'I still can't believe it; I still can't believe it': Hammond teen first to win Shot at A Million scholarship
HAMMOND, La (BRPROUD) - Two lucky Louisianans are now $100,000 richer after becoming the first winners of the Shot at A Million campaign.
On July 15, the governor and his team presented 16-year-old Skyla Degrasse with a giant check that will change her life forever.
"I hear my mom say, 'no way!' and I'm like, mom what's up?" Degrasse said. "After she gets off the phone, she tells me and I burst into tears, it was life-changing, very life-changing."
She is the first to win a $100,000 scholarship through the Shot at A Million campaign.
"I can't wait! I cannot wait to go to college," Degrasse said.
Going to high school during Covid was not easy, but the 16-year-old pushed through.
"This past year with the Covid and everything was pretty rough because I was virtual, and I did face a few challenges," said Degrasse. "But I still did manage to keep my grades up and pass to the next grade, so I am really grateful for that."
Degrasse graduates from Hammond High School in 2022. She's not sure if she will go to college locally or move out of the state, but ultimately, her dream is to go to college for psychology.
"I really like helping people, so, I think it will be a pretty good job for me," Degrasse shared.
Because she took a Shot at A Million, that dream can become a reality.
"It will pay for my books, my classes, everything I need," Degrasse said.
While she is grateful for the scholarship, she says she would have gotten the shot either way.
"It just makes me feel safer and it makes everyone around me feel safer too just knowing that I got the vaccination, and it takes a lot of my mind," said Degrasse.
"I also, thank her, for her decision that she made to be vaccinated," Gov. John Bel Edwards said.
A decision that gave her hope for the future.
"I still can't believe it; I still can't believe it," Degrasse said.