McNair High grad with $3.4 million in scholarships makes college choice

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Jaedin Wright, a recent graduate at McNair High School, drew a lot of attention by turning rejection into opportunity, earning more than $3.4 million in college scholarships after his top-choice school turned him down.

Now his story has an update: He’s decided which among the many schools that accepted him he’ll attend.

Jaedin’s headed to Virginia, where he’ll attend Norfolk State University!

He wants to major in cybersecurity to one day become a security analyst. And he plans to continue with band — marching in the Norfolk State band, trombone in hand.

His peers know him as a dedicated student and who was a standout in the school band, playing trombone and leading the band as drum major. But his instrument, he said, taught him more than music.

“This instrument has taught me a lot of life lessons,” Jaedin said. “Unfortunately, my dream school didn’t accept me. But that just opened the doors for new things.”

With his application fees waived, Jaedin doubled down and applied to dozens of schools. 

“Rejection is just re-direction,” he said. “I got into about 40 or 50 schools.”

At a Commitment Day celebration, Jaedin was shocked to learn he had earned $3,477,716 in various scholarship offers. The money includes academic and musical scholarships, along with grants and other funds. 

“They were like — ‘and this child has $3 million’ — and I’m like, who is this? This can’t be me… and then they just said my name,” he recalled, laughing.

Those who know Jaedin best aren’t surprised.

“Jaedin is the definition of hard work meets talent,” said his band director, Jared Davis. “He learns from everything. I say we either win or we learn. We never lose until we give up. And he hasn’t given up on anything.”

Jaedin was the graduation speaker at McNair’s ceremony, and said his message would be “persevere.”

“Be committed to one thing,” he said. “Don’t drop it just because times get hard.”

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