A Louisiana High School Senior has secured $1.2 million in academic and merit scholarships for college. Kelsie Tillage, a senior at Southern University Laboratory School in Baton Rouge, says she was unsure if she would receive a scholarship when she first applied.
“I think the first time I got a scholarship was when I applied to Oregon. I was shocked. I was like “Oh my Gosh”! I didn’t think I had those stats to achieve this feat.”
Tillage maintains a 4.25 GPA and has been accepted into more than six top universities including Tufts, Spelman, UNC, Howard, Rhodes, and more. She is also dually enrolled at Southern University and has accumulated 30 college credit hours. Tillage has also broadened her resume by participating in several volunteer ventures.
“A lot of my volunteer efforts were through reading, book drives, reading, and tutoring kids. It was kind of easy for me to balance because it was stuff I was already doing and stuff I eventually grew to.”
Tillage is a published author with an anthology series – “Unpopular Opinions”. She is also a Duke Tip and John Hopkins CTY scholar and was awarded the Gold Medal Congressional Award in 2022, the highest honor a youth civilian can achieve through the US Senate and House of Representatives. Tillage says the best way to get a scholarship is to simply apply.
“Just do it. There are less people applying than you think and you just need to do it. Cause you never know. The worst they can say is no you didn’t get it. But if you apply to ten and you get one that’s still a win at the end of the day.”
Tillage will be attending Spelman College – a historically Black college and a global leader in the education of African American women in Atlanta – this fall with the class of 2027.
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