For his entire life – and the 12 years he’s spent in the Hattiesburg Public School District – Casey Buisson has wanted to attend the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
Although the Hattiesburg High senior knew that goal may not be an easy one because of the cost of tuition at the school, that’s a hurdle that’s just been cleared, as Buisson recently was awarded a presidential scholarship from the university that provides a yearly financial award of $26,000.
The presidential scholarship is awarded only to students who score a 32 to 36 on the ACT – the equivalent of 1420 to 1600 on the SAT – with a grade point average of 3.5 or higher.
“I’m really grateful, because I feel like after giving my all for these 12 years, it’s allowed me to go to a school that I knew from the beginning was going to be a bit of a stretch because it was so expensive,” Buisson said. “So this has allowed me to reach my dreams with that. I’m thankful to Hattiesburg High School.”
At Alabama, Buisson plans to major in social work and possibly double major in psychology.
“After talking to a lot of people and doing a bunch of research, I realized that Alabama offered me opportunities that other colleges I was looking into just couldn’t give me,” he said. “So through the scholarship, I was able to afford it and tap into those resources and opportunities that they have.
“I wanted to major in social work because I’ve always felt like I wanted to help people, and before, I wasn’t really sure what social work was. But it was described to me, and it’s what you do when you feel a calling to help people. I really want to use that to help, especially underserved communities, minority communities, that kind of thing.”
Throughout his years at the school, Buisson remained active with the Hattiesburg High School Forensics Team.
Earlier this year, he competed at the Cowbell Classic, which was held at Mississippi State University in Starkville.
At that event – which consisted of several events, including debate, individual performances, Duo Interpretation, Duet Acting and Dramatic Interpretation – Buisson won the championship in Duo Interpretation with his partner Adonai Hill and placed third in Dramatic Interpretation.
In addition to the presidential scholarship, Buisson also received a $10,000 speech and debate scholarship to the University of Alabama.
“I feel like through my schooling through the Hattiesburg Public School District – I’ve been with them my entire life – they’ve not only given me a great education, but they’ve also shown me a wide range of different peoples’ life experiences,” Buisson said. “That has really put the passion inside of me that wants to help underserved communities, because I can see it firsthand on a day-to-day basis.”
