Meet Kendal Gulley, this year’s winner of the Lumberton High School Endeavor Scholarship. This is the first year this scholarship has been awarded, and we’re proud to have Kendal as our inaugural winner.

Kendal’s room is decorated with paintings of beaches. She speaks with a gentle, southern accent as she describes her love of nature and painting.

“It’s calming,” she says. “I like doing it as a hobby.”

Volleyball and sports have been a big part in Kendal’s life because they’ve allowed her to bond with her older sister. The sisters played volleyball together, and Kendal got to watch her sister lead their team to state. Kendal says good leaders are like her sister : they make sure everyone is heard and all details are noticed.

“They didn’t just focus on themselves,” Kendal says. “They focused on the whole team, and it showed through the program. I really look up to her in that sense.”

Kendal was very surprised after her school counselor told her she was awarded the Lumberton High School Endeavor Scholarship. She’s grateful that it will help her parents and her pay for college, and she said it will help her stay motivated.

“This was a big scholarship, and I never thought I’d get it,” Kendal says.

Kendal is family oriented but not afraid to branch out. In the fall, she’ll move out of the house her mother and brother live in and attend Stephen F. Austin State University. At orientation, she decided to major in Forestry and Wildlife Management because she loves being outside.

“I get to go off on my own and experience life for myself,” Kendal says. “I think it’ll be good for me.”

Kendal Gulley, center, and her classmates.

Support students like Kendal by donating to the Lumberton High School Endeavor Scholarship here.

Student Profile: Kendal Gulley