COBB COUNTY, Ga. — North Cobb Christian School’s Grant Pool was admiring his new plaque Wednesday, and he ought to have been, because a Coca-Cola Scholar is what all of the best and brightest dream of being.
“The Coke Scholarship had around 105,000 applicants this year, which makes it the most applied-to scholarship in the world,” Pool said.
There are just 150 winners nationwide. Pool is one of a handful of graduating seniors to receive the honor, and $20,000, in Coke’s home state of Georgia, and the first ever at North Cobb Christian.
“We’ve had a lot of smart, gifted students at this school, but it takes a student that’s truly, kind of a powerhouse,” North Cobb Christian history teacher Beth Clark told Channel 2’s Berndt Petersen.
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Grant is a top-rate student, a champion swimmer, and an accomplished viola player.
“The Coca-Cola Scholarship looks for things beyond academics. It looks for broad areas of service and leadership,” Grant said.
Which would include the nonprofit he formed called Pages of Hope. It promotes literacy and donates books all over the world.
Grant is sporting a smart-looking T-shirt these days. The Coke Scholar will be off to Yale, but he’ll always be grateful for where it all began.
“I came here when I was 4 years old and have grown up on this campus. I’ve learned so much here. It’s really been my basis in academics and also just my life,” Grant said.
While Grant will be heading to Yale, he was also accepted to Brown, Cornell, Duke, Penn, UGA, and Georgia Tech.
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