This former high school senior has defied the odds!
According to ArkLaTex, Nicholas Watson is a former student at Arkansas High School where he is breaking records having earned the highest GPA in the school’s history.
At a young age, Watson was diagnosed with both autism and ADHD and was told that he would never be able to read or comprehend math.
Thankfully those people were wrong because, today, Watson persevered and has done exceedingly well academically. Today he has been accepted to 45 different colleges and universities across the nation.
Watson has also received more than $1.5 million in scholarship offers and graduated as the class valedictorian with a 4.8-grade point average (GPA).
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“Overall, I’m just grateful to have an opportunity to be where I am right now because I wasn’t ever meant to be here,” said Watson. “Besides autism and ADHD, they said I wasn’t ever going to comprehend, read, math, all of that. No matter what circumstance or whoever defines you. You’re the one who defines yourself.”
To his mother, Watson’s ability to overcome obstacles is nothing new.
“…I don’t even know if I would say [there were] obstacles because whatever you ask of him, he just did it,” Marian Watson said.
Along with his success in academics, Watson is quite the athlete dominating in sports that include basketball, cross country, soccer, and track.
Out of the 45 schools, Watson has selected Harding University where he will begin in the fall on a basketball scholarship. He will study Electrical Engineering and will start school with 64 college credits under his belt.
“I’m a hands-on type of guy,” said Watson. “I want to make electronic devices and go to big places like Google and Tesla.”
Watson wants his story to serve as an inspiration for people to understand that they too can beat the odds and do whatever they put their mind to.
“No matter the limitations or restrictions that you have been given, conditions or anything that tries to hinder you, just try to overachieve that and go to a goal that you want to achieve,” he continued.
