FORT VALLEY, Ga. — Fort Valley State University this week received the biggest donation in its history.
The university was gifted $2.5 million, and it came from the same anonymous donor that donated back in August.
The grant will now help hundreds of Wildcats reach their dreams.
"My experience at Fort Valley State was like no other," Zaquan Baldwin said.
A Fort Valley State graduate, Baldwin says college was not in his plans.
"I grew up in a low socioeconomic area, in the Bloomfield area and south Macon, and I had a rough upbringing. I was in and out of juvenile detention centers, I kept getting in trouble, I kept getting suspended and expelled from school. I really didn't feel like I had a purpose in the community," Baldwin said.
Baldwin realized his purpose through adults he met along the way, and says that they're the reason he decided to go to college and succeed.
"My very first scholarship was the FVSU Favor Fund. I ended up getting the BPRB scholarship. the Tom Joyner scholarship I got because of my outstanding academic achievement while being a football player, and I got the FVSU Foundation scholarship," Baldwin said.
He says the financial help was the reason he graduated on time.
"It helped me not only maintain and keep up with my classes, but it also helped me maintain a full stomach, somewhere to stay, and it helped me maintain the balance of life. These scholarships helped me out in ways that I can't even explain," Baldwin said.
Vice president of the university Anthony Holloman says this is the case for many students, and that there will be more scholarships to come.
The school was gifted a $2.5 million donation that will go towards the the school's Finish Line Initiative.
That's a scholarship program that assists students facing financial barriers.
"Our goal is to provide as many resources as we can to help through the matriculation process," Holloman said.
Fort Valley State says that they will award 500 students up to $5,000 over the next three years.
"We want to create a more educated population, and I think that this gift will help us do that," Holloman said.
The scholarships will go out to select students at the beginning of January.