Duke-bound Lily Todd, with a 4.54 GPA at Independence, named top girls scholar-athlete
Independence High School’s Lily Todd is flying high.
Not only is she the 2022-23 Charlotte Observer girls scholar-athlete of the year, but she’s collected $1.2 million in scholarship money. That includes the Air Force ROTC Flight Academy Scholarship, where she is currently earning her private pilots’ certification — free of charge.
“As a 28 year veteran, I would be happy to pass the torch of leadership to a person like her,” said Independence High School AFROTC instructor Lt. Col. Jeffrey Jenkins.
Jenkins is like family to Todd. She practiced her scholarship interviews with him, and she became cadet battalion commander under his guise.
But ROTC isn’t all Todd represents. With the scholar-athlete recognition, she represents Independence, and the athletic community she says she was lucky to be a part of.
“Independence is really good at trying to make sure each student finds where they belong and can flourish,” Todd said. “I think it’s cool this award shows I found two places that I belonged.”
A three-year varsity volleyball and four-year varsity basketball player, Todd maintained a 4.54 GPA through her graduation.
This earned her acceptance into the Air Force Academy, West Point and Duke, where she will be attending on a full ride from the J-100 AFJROTC Character in Leadership Scholarship.
What she’s most proud of, though, is surviving her day-to-day schedule balancing academics, sports, ROTC and application season.
“Even the hard days, I’m always trying to smile and make other people around me smile,” she said.
She hasn’t always been so confident in her abilities. She’s grown since she was a freshman, since she transferred from Queens Grant Charter School before her sophomore year.
Every step along the way, Todd was learning from those around her and combining that with her natural leadership ability.
“She’s able to reflect back on how she was as a freshman,” Jenkins said, “watch the people who led before her and pick the good and the bad out of their leadership styles to help direct and mentor the freshmen.”
Diversity, Todd said, doesn’t just come from differences in race or ethnicity. It also comes from diversity of thought and experience.
She embraces that diversity, with both academics and athletics representing part of her success.
