Buick Scholarship Winner from Harrisburg Heads to Harvard

August 19, 2011 10:05 am ET

We were honored to catch up with Adrian Jones from Harrisburg, a 2011 National Buick Achiever, before he headed off to Harvard to begin his freshmen year.

In case you missed the big announcement in July, Buick and the General Motors Foundation selected 100 outstanding students from across the United States who each received a scholarship of up to $25,000 renewable for up to four years through the Buick Achievers Scholarship Program. The $4.5 million-per-year scholarship program recognizes and rewards college-bound students who excel both in the classroom and in the community. The program is funded by the GM Foundation and is among the largest awarded over multiple years.

After meeting Adrian and riding around with him in a Buick Regal compliments of Harrisburg’s Faulkner BuickGMC (pictured above with general manager Jack Oyler), we can certainly see why this inspiring young man was chosen for such an honor. A snapshot of our conversation is included below:

What do you want people to know about Adrian Jones?
At this point in my life I have achieved more than I imagined by preparing to study at Harvard this fall. This was accomplished by faith in God, the continual support of a loving family, and hard work.

What are you most proud of as you prepare for college?
I’m proud that I was able to use the success I attained to bring to light some issues concerning my school district. Not only was I able to address these things within my valedictorian speech, but other National Honor Society members and I helped organize a town hall meeting.

What were some of your activities in and out of the classroom?
During high school I participated in the robotics and Quizbowl teams, as well as the National Honor Society. It was my membership on the robotics team that guided me towards engineering.

A few Buick surprises

What did you enjoy most about your high school experience?
Probably the hours spent trying to make working robots with a team.

What will the Buick scholarship enable you to do?
I was elated and slightly shocked to be chosen, so I spread the good news to my family. The scholarship has been a blessing; with it I am able to attend school without concern for its cost.

What are your future plans?
At this moment I hope to work as a materials engineer after having obtained a doctorate in the field.

Where do you see yourself in five years? Ten years?
In five years I see myself in grad school, in ten I hope to be working as an engineer.

And check out the video interview here:

Congratulations to Adrian and best of luck to all of the impressive Buick Achievers!