An outstanding senior at H.D. Woodson High School is one of ten students in D.C. to find out his college is fully paid for.
"It feels great. It takes off a lot of stress as far as deciding where I'm going to go to college. Obviously, I know where I'm going now," said senior Michael Prather.
The 18-year-old is headed to George Washington University.
"The folks at GW are visiting high schools throughout the district and awarding full cost of attendance to select students," said Dr. Thomas J. LeBlanc, President of The George Washington University.
The GW-Stephen Joel Tracthtenberg Scholarship covers tuition, room, board, books and fees.
"I feel overwhelmed, overjoyed and I'm very proud of my son," said Prather's mother Alanna Prather-Augustus.
Prather's father was moved to tears.
"He's just been putting in work. Great character kid, great integrity and he's a laid back kid, very humble," Michael Alston said.
The Southeast resident who holds a 3.97 GPA, has overcome amazing odds. In 2014 he was hospitalized after his toes were cut off in a lawn mower accident.
"We thought he would not be able to walk, you know, walk normal after that. Well, not only did he walk normal, not only did he work hard, he actually played football months later," Alston said.
Prather expressed gratitude for the scholarship and acknowledged the work ahead.
"This is good, this is great, but it's other things to come so I just have to stay focused," he said.
Prather hopes to major in computer science at GW.
More than 170 students have benefited from the scholarship program since it started in 1989.