The Florida Lottery Bright Futures Scholarship Program Provides Life Changing Opportunities
With the help of the Florida Lottery Bright Futures Scholarship, Lauryn Brown, raised in Tallahassee, enrolled at Florida State University at age 16 and graduated in December 2019 with a degree in interdisciplinary medical sciences. Lauryn's goal of a career in medicine — "to change the way people go about their lives" — is coming into focus.
Growing up, Lauryn Brown was incredibly gifted and ambitious. She excelled academically, graduating from Godby High School at just 15. Although her sights were set on a career in health care, her path to success wasn't guaranteed. "I definitely knew that I was going to go to college," Lauryn says. "It was just a matter of when and how I was going to pay for it." A guidance counselor pointed her toward the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program.
With a lot of hard work and late-night study sessions, Lauryn was awarded the scholarship and enrolled at Florida State University at just 16 years old. Her goal of a career in medicine, "to change the way people go about their lives," was coming into focus.
Despite her ambitions, Lauryn's achievements in the college classrooms weren't automatic and she sometimes found herself struggling with certain subjects. One poor trigonometry grade almost made her reconsider her dream of studying medicine. But she persevered, "I just kept with it and kept improving."
Soon, Lauryn was flourishing. In addition to classes, Lauryn found time to tutor fellow students and even volunteered at a local hospital where she completed a medical internship and was accredited as a certified medical assistant. She graduated from Florida State University in December 2019 with a degree in interdisciplinary medical sciences.
"I just want to be able to change the way people go about their lives, make it so they have healthier behaviors that will benefit them in the future," Lauryn explains.
Now, she's currently in the process of applying to graduate school where she plans to focus on reproductive medicine.
The journey may not have always been easy, but Lauryn has paved her way for a career in medicine. In her words, "anywhere in medicine would be fine."
Thanks to the Florida Lottery funded Bright Futures Scholarship, Lauryn has plenty of options and her future looks bright.
For more information, visit http://www.flalottery.com/brightfutures
The Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program was created by the Florida Legislature and is funded primarily by the Florida Lottery. Since the program's inception in 1997, the Lottery has contributed more than $6.2 billion to help send over 840,000 students to college.
Above content provided by the Florida Lottery.