College was always something Shelby wanted to do, and she is the first in her family to go. “I watched my dad struggle as he finished high school with a 3-year-old. He and my sister both encouraged me to do better and go to college.”
Shelby received an athletic scholarship to play softball and is majoring in physical therapy. “The physical therapist I have at home, I love him. It will also keep me in with sports. If I don’t get another athletic scholarship offer, then I’ll probably go back home to Theodore and go to University of South Alabama.”
Leaving home was difficult. “I’m very close to my family. I also left my boyfriend at home. This year was a lot easier because I was coming back to people I know and my friends were here.”
Shelby wants to be her own boss. “I’d like to stay within my hometown of Theodore—to be a physical therapist and married with a lot of dogs.”
Donors are dream-makers. “Thank you,” she says. “I could not do it without my scholarship.”