LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Charlotte Arnold, a senior at duPont Manual High School in Louisville, made headlines last Tuesday for receiving a $16,000 college scholarship from Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS). With graduation just around the corner and her dorm move-in date in August, there’s a lot to look forward to. 

However, she said there were more times than not when she doubted herself along the way. Reaching out for help, though, is what got her through her struggles with mental health.

Arnold has a clear vision for what her life will look live over the next four years.  

“I plan on attending Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Florida, and I’ll be majoring in pre-pharmacy with a minor in sociology,” Arnold said while sitting in her sociology class at DuPont Manual.

“Sociology has showed me sometimes that I haven’t always been in the best circumstances, but it has made me, like, feel proud of myself because I’ve been able to overcome from those circumstances,” she said about her sociology class, a subject Arnold has “really bonded with.”

The 17-year-old seems to have it all right now. She currently has a 3.89 GPA. Outside of academics, she’s captain of her high school’s cheer team, on another competitive cheer team outside of school, and on her high school’s track team.

Plus, she works up to 25 hours each week as a pharmacy technician at a Walgreens in the Louisville area.

“I usually try to help out with bills and everything I can within the house, and then what I can save for college, I usually put that to the side,” she said.

The $16,000 scholarship from JCPS sets her up to pay for her first year of college, too.

Right now, Arnold said she feels like she’s on cloud nine, but she admits there were times she wasn’t sure she’d be at this point in life: about to graduate and head to college. 

“I battled a lot with my mental health,” she explained. “And with me being active in my community and active in my school, I feel like a lot of people just expected you to be OK or didn’t really understand that some days may not just be the best.”

Part of her mental health journey included learning how to accept and forgive her dad. She said in middle school she noticed his battle with addiction.

“I feel like for a point I accepted what I went through and what my dad was going through, but it’s still, like, at heart, broke me. And it just, like, crushed my spirit, and made me less of who I was,” she said. 

She also had a lot of self-doubt. 

“I always had a voice in my head telling me, ‘What if this? What if that? What if this doesn’t work out? Like, you need a back-up plan. Like, this is too out of reach,’” she explained.

Arnold said her dad is sober now, and they reconnected last year to grow into a close relationship once again. 

Asking for help is what Arnold said helped her most.

“I feel like I was stuck in a headspace of being this girl from the West End, being this girl from the hood, and that’s all I could ever be,” she said. “So I guess also realizing that I am more was a big part of my journey.”

On that journey with her was a support system at her high school, from going to therapy on-site to her teachers encouraging her. One of those teacher’s Arnold said is Shannon Kederis. 

Arnold met Kederis when she was a freshman in her social studies class. She later learned Kederis also served on the admissions team who read a then middle-school-aged Arnold’s application to be accepted into duPont Manual High School. 

“She is that example that, you know, if you are determined and want to go after something, it’s totally achievable,” Kederis said.

Getting to this point, for Arnold, wouldn’t have been possible without two things: her Mom and her high school’s support.

“It’s important to know that you are not alone, and it’s important to know that if you vocalize that, then there will be someone to help you, and there will be positivity,” Arnold said.

Arnold’s other piece of advice? Never give up. 

“Being cut from a different cloth pretty much just says that I was different and unique in my own way, and I’m just excited to show the world and everyone all the great things that I can do.” 

This August, Arnold will move into her dorm at Florida A&M University, which she said she chose for its strong presence as a Historic Black College and University. Move in day is also her 18th birthday. 

Arnold also said she’ll be the first person in her immediate family to go to college.