CHICAGO – Anytime a student receives money through an academic scholarship for college, it’s a big deal and certainly something to celebrate.

It’s an honor that North Lawndale College Prep High School senior and Chicago native Freddie Golden has earned during his time at the school through coursework and extra-curricular activities. But the amount he’s received over the last year has been quite extraordinary.

The Cubs & Chicago Scholar has been awarded over $1 million dollars in academic scholarships as he’s continued his very busy high school career.

“As the first one came in, I didn’t know what to do, it was just a really exciting process for me,” said Golden. “I was just waiting every day on the mail, I just kept checking the mail. You can ask my mom, I was the first one at the door, I was waiting for that mail.

“As they kept coming in, it just felt really good, because I worked hard throughout my four years of blocking out all distractions, blocking out everything that’s trying to weigh me down and put me on the wrong side. I blocked all that out, and I feel like that work has paid of now.”

Golden certainly kept himself involved in high school as a three-sport athlete, a member of the National Honor Society, and is also part of the Peace Warriors, an organization at North Lawndale that provides support to students who have lost family members due to gun violence.

He also worked with a number of members of the Cubs Scholars program, which is also part of the Chicago Scholars, who provided mentorship to Golden during his time in high school. It was something he appreciated, especially during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was a tough time for everybody and just the support that I had from them and just the things that they told me, it just taught me to really stay positive in every situation,” said Golden. “They thought me different tactics on how to get through and really stay positive, stay confident in this space, stay confident in this process.”

The advice worked for Golden, who will now attend Morehouse College in Atlanta starting this fall as he plans to study both computer science and engineering.

You can see more on his path to college scholarships through the Cubs & Chicago Scholars by watching the story from WGN News Now in the video above.

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