Before even leaving middle school, four Madison County, Georgia students have received scholarships to pay for college.

Madison County graduation coach Renee McCannon said with this, going to college becomes very possible for first-generation students.

There’s a lot of kids in Madison County that may never think of going to college. One because of financial reasons,” McCannon said.

“Two, it’s just never been a thing that happened in their family, that no one in their family went to college,” she said.

Gov. Nathan Deal created the REACH (Realizing Educational Achievement Can Happen) Georgia Scholarship in 2012. It is a need-based scholarship for promising students. REACH Georgia Scholars who complete the program requirements will receive a scholarship of up to $10,000.

REACH Georgia Scholar

A Thailand native, Thaw Htoo, is one of the four students at Madison County Middle School named as a REACH Georgia Scholar.

I just want to make my mom proud,” Htoo said.

With the help of the REACH Georgia Scholarship, after graduation, Thaw Htoo hopes to work at Google one day.

Alexandra Rios is a senior majoring in journalism in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia.