TULSA, Okla. — A Will Rogers High School student received the surprise of a lifetime Friday.
The student received a full ride to attend the University of Tulsa.
It was a packed auditorium at Will Rogers for the announcement. Juniors and seniors arrived for the mysterious assembly.
"And I am pleased to say the first recipient of our True Blue Neighborhood Scholarship is indeed one of your classmates," Brad Carson, University of Tulsa President, said. "Michael Kelly, will you join us here on stage?"
Caron and Tulsa Public Schools Superintendent Deborah Gist arrived at Rogers to surprise Kelley.
"I showed up to school today, and they said, 'we're going to have a special announcement,' and I'm like, 'okay,' I didn't think much of it," Kelley said. "And I come into the auditorium, and there's a bunch of, you know, University of Tulsa flags and gold and blue colors everywhere, and the next thing I know, I'm up on the stage."
Kelley was full of emotions when Carson announced the scholarship.
"I was like, 'oh my god, I can't believe it.' There's like no way that I actually did it. Like, I couldn't process it initially," Kelley said. "I was just like, so star-struck."
Kelley's mother was there to hear his name called.
"They did an amazing job for him. I'm proud of him. I'm proud of him. I'm proud that he's my kid," Cathy Kelley said. I've done a good job.
Making his mother proud of him is a crucial thing for Michael.
"Every single time I'm like, 'I got to make it for mom, I gotta make her proud," Kelley said. "I'm just so glad. I mean, she always tells me she's proud of me. Nonstop. Always telling me she's proud of me, but to do something even bigger to make her even more proud, it just feels so good to know that."
With the full ride to TU, Kelley saves roughly $60,000 a year.
"Over the course of four or five years, that's $250,000 or more and we know Michael's going to earn that scholarship through his hard work so we're really proud to offer that to him," Carson said.
Proud is the word of the day. It is something Superintendent Gist could agree with.
"He represents Rogers so well, and he's going to do the same for the University of Tulsa," Gist said.
Kelley has advice for the younger generation at Rogers.
"I'd say, just keep at it. Just work at it," Kelley said. "I know, like in the moment, things may not ever seem like they're going to pay off, but really you just got to keep at it because it, right in the moment, it wouldn't seem like it will pay off, but in the future when you're like three or four years down, and you're standing up on that stage it's a whole different feeling."
According to Carson, the True Blue Neighborhood Scholarship was given to Kelley after he was chosen by Gist.
The University of Tulsa will award the scholarship to students who live near TU.
According to Carson, the student who receives the scholarship knows the university and worked hard during high school. The "True Blue Neighborhood" does not specify an exact location. Carson describes it as a broad definition.
"It's really for the students who kind of grew up in the back yard of TU and the various elementary schools and high schools that are around here."
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