With 23 hours in advanced placement courses at Roanoke Rapids High School, where she graduated this year as salutatorian, she has worked her way to the possibility of obtaining double, if not not triple degrees, when she begins her college career at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

On Monday Blackwell and her family were invited to the governor's mansion in Raleigh where Governor Pat McCrory greeted her and the other two state winners of the Buick Achievers Scholarship.

(The full press release may be found at the end of this story as a PDF attachment)

The invitation to Raleigh surprised her. “It was exciting. I had no idea about that. I thought I was going to get a letter.”

Blackwell credits the honor, which represents a full ride to UNC, to several things. “It's a combination of dedication to school work and these two,” she said of her parents, Bill and Deborah, today, “and all the great teachers I've had.”

Blackwell, with Roanoke Rapids Graded Schools Superintendent Dennis Sawyer, left, and Lee Bone of Quality Buick GMC in Roanoke Rapids.

Blackwell's road to the scholarship began with homeschooling through the tenth grade and then entering Roanoke Rapids for her junior and senior year.

Through homeschooling, her father said, his daughter taught herself math, including precalculus.

As Blackwell's scholastic aptitude was evident, her mother began scouring the Internet for scholarships that would help finance her daughter's college education. “I just researched on the Internet. She was so busy with her school work.”

She was a finalist for several prestigious scholarships. “We knew she was a good candidate,” her mother said. “If we didn't apply we knew she didn't have a chance to win.”

The Buick scholarship is for students who want to study science, business, technology or engineering and also stresses community involvement and extracurricular activities.

In her essay, Blackwell concentrated on the tutoring program she started at Belmont Elementary. Her list of extracurricular activities also includes her involvement with the Lakeland Theater Company and the Roanoke Rapids Library preschool story time as well as many other activities.

At Carolina, she plans to double major in business and math although she hasn't chosen a profession. Earning 23 credit hours through advanced placement courses at Roanoke Rapids, she said, “I may have enough advanced credit to get a triple major.”

The advanced placement courses were demanding, she said, but she credited her teachers' dedication. “All six AP teachers at the high school were really, really wonderful.”

The 23 credit hours she earned at the high school is equal to one college semester. “It gives me lots of room to get another major in.”

The scholarship, she said, gave her family breathing room. “There's no local debt. It means I don't have to work a job. I can add an extra class.”

It also means the opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities such as joining the school's ballroom dance team.

“We're really proud,” her father said.

Mr. Blackwell said his daughter's scholarship will help the family plan the academic futures of three children behind her. “We're thankful to Buick for offering her and the others this opportunity.”

Coming from a diverse educational background, Blackwell said homeschooling and public schools both helped her. “Homeschooling helped me maintain my love of school and drive. Public school helped with with all my AP credits and being used to a structured environment. It gave me some really great teachers.”