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Mattson Taylor Smith says his 4.84 grade point average last fall didn't happen because he's smarter than his peers.
In many ways, that's the beauty of his academic success. The Fort Mill High School senior says he really had to work for it.
“I took my weaknesses and through hard work made them my strengths,” he wrote in an essay. “I took my asthma and became a runner. I took my timid nature as a boy and became a public speaker. From a childhood that suggested mediocrity… I have tried to become something special.”
Today, the Tega Cay resident is a varsity cross-country runner, award-winning orator of the South Carolina Beta Clubs and a winner of the Future Business Leaders of America Impromptu Speaking Contest.
The 18-year-old has served as mock-trial captain and Model United Nations and Student Ambassadors participant. He also has received the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship and an ACE Network Citizenship Scholarship.
Smith's commitment to excellence also has earned him a place among the Observer's annual list of 10 Seniors of the Year, winners of the newspaper's All-Star Scholars competition. Each receives a $1,000 scholarship.
Smith, son of Glenn and Kelli Smith, plans to go to Furman University and become a criminal defense lawyer.
His favorite technology is his laptop computer: “It allows me to multitask and make the most out of every moment.”
