Antoine Cowart, a recent graduate of Lake Worth High School in Florida, is heading to Florida State University this school year after overcoming housing insecurity and financial hardship through a local community outreach program called ‘The Path.’ Cowart joined The Path’s ‘A.C.E Academy’ program during his junior year, a partnership with Adopt-A-Family of the Palm Beaches, which supports families experiencing housing insecurity, homelessness, and financial challenges.
Overcoming Adversity
Cowart’s journey is a testament to the power of perseverance and the impact of community support. ‘My first two years of high school, I didn’t really know where I was going with it. I knew I wanted to get good grades, but that’s just because my parents always told me to get good grades. I didn’t know what I wanted for my future, I didn’t know what type of college I wanted to go to, I didn’t know what I wanted for myself,’ Cowart said.
The A.C.E Academy provides mentorship, paid internship opportunities, and college and career readiness support for students. Throughout the program, Cowart was able to explore different positions in the golf course, starting with maintenance and eventually transitioning to golf operations. This experience helped him decide on his college major and earn a full scholarship to Florida State University.
A Bright Future Ahead
Cowart’s story is an inspiration to many, and his future looks bright. He plans to major in marketing and minor in communications. ‘I’m going to major in marketing. I want to minor in communications as well, and I would say that The Path really opened my eyes. I wouldn’t have known I wanted to do marketing,’ Cowart said.
The program’s director, Dave Andrews, emphasized the importance of continued support beyond high school graduation. ‘We continue on that because a lot of times scholarships change, and so different opportunities and grants change. We want to be assured that as they continue to grow, we only continue to inspire them more by giving them a resource or an individual that we would be able to partner them with, maybe mentor them within a secondary part of their college career. We don’t want it to ever end here,’ Andrews said.
Original reporting: 40/29 / KHBS (NW Arkansas) — read the source article.
