By Faran Fagen
When Joshua Browning learned he received an important scholarship one day after his graduation from Boca Raton High School, he jumped into the air and screamed out, “Yes!” His father, William, shed a tear.
“The best part about being chosen is knowing that I have the support of the George Snow Scholarship Fund as I begin this next chapter of my life,” Browning said. “I believe they chose me because of my story. I worked hard, stayed involved in my school and my Boca Raton community, and continued to push myself throughout these four years of my high school career, even when things were difficult or if I was going through a tough time in my life.”
Browning, 19, is one of this year’s recipients of the Carl Angus DeSantis Foundation Scholarship, which partners with the George Snow Scholarship Fund to finance trade and career programs in Florida. The George Snow Scholarship Fund, based in Boca Raton, is dedicated to helping deserving students achieve their career goals through their pursuit of higher education. Since its inception in 1982, the fund has awarded more than $47 million in educational grants and support services.
But the scholarship didn’t come easy to Browning, who lives in east Boca Raton.
One of his biggest challenges in high school was managing his learning differences while keeping up with a demanding workload. He was enrolled in a specialized Individual Education Program since he was young, and struggled with things like reading quickly, organizing his thoughts, and working under time pressure.
“I learned that I could not always approach school the same way as everyone else might be able to,” Browning said. “I had to break assignments into smaller parts, manage my time carefully, and ask for help when I needed it from my support team at school.”
He also had to budget extra time to make sure he was able to fully grasp what he was taught.
“Over time, I became more confident and learned that having challenges does not mean I can’t reach my goals. I am the future for tomorrow. I must keep pushing.”
He found the George Snow Scholarship through Boca High’s college and career center and learned more about the opportunity through the Snow family organization on its website, scholarship.org. The application was a lot of work, but it gave Browning a chance to talk about his experiences, accomplishments, challenges and goals.
“It was also a good opportunity to reflect on how much I had grown throughout high school,” he said.
Browning chose to attend Flagler College in St. Augustine, majoring in hospitality and tourism management. He picked Flagler because he liked the campus and the environment in St. Augustine.
“I also felt that the hospitality and tourism program was good since it’s such a small school and they focus more on their students compared to any other big Florida state school,” he said. “It was a good fit for my interests within traveling and also for my future and my goals as a whole.”
His career goal is to become a hotel manager or even own and run his own hotel. Working in areas such as event planning or social media marketing would also be within his interests.
“I enjoy working with people, creating experiences, and being part of an environment where people make good memories,” Browning said.
“As an adult, I hope to use my career to make people feel welcome and included. I also want to give back to my community and support other young people who may be facing challenges similar to ones that I experienced growing up.”
This sentiment was cultivated when he served as president of MindLift, a physical and mental health organization where students could support one another and seek support for themselves. Through this club, he brought together students of all backgrounds and offered them a chance to share their struggles and goals as they worked through academic or athletic pressures and emotional issues.
Recently, Browning got the chance to attend the High School to College Transition Orientation, a daylong event designed to help prepare Snow scholars for their first year in college.
During the orientation, Browning received advice on pursuing hospitality and tourism management from Zoe Lanham, an executive at The Addison of Boca Raton. Meeting an industry leader further inspired him to see the range of opportunities that await him in his career.
This scholarship will also ease his family’s financial burden. Browning will not be the only one attending college in his family. Next year his sister, Julia, will graduate from high school. His dad, William, and mom, Helenice, must figure out how to support two college educations at once.
“The financial support of the scholarship will help with the cost of my college education and allow me to focus more on school and being able to get involved on campus,” Browning said.
“However, I see the scholarship as more than just a financial helper or boost. Being a Snow scholar also gives me access to a community of people who want to see me succeed.”
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