Willingboro NJ teen receives over $2M in college scholarships

Eighteen months ago, if you asked Damaris Anne-Spring, a South Jersey native and Willingboro High School alumna, if she would end up graduating this year, she would tell you she has her reservations.

“This year in particular, it was extremely difficult. This was the first year we’ve been back since quarantine in March of 2020. So going back … I was a little reluctant, I’m going to be honest, because we had already been home for about a year and a half,” Damaris said.

Now, not only can Damaris add a graduate degree from the Burlington County Institute of Technology to her resume, she can also say she is a recipient of over $2 million in scholarships and has been accepted to 26 colleges and universities. Damaris’ mother, Michelle Spring, says she’s still at a loss for words when asked about her daughter’s success.

“I am without words. I am incredibly proud of Damaris; Damaris is one of the strongest and most resilient people that I have had the pleasure to know much less parent,” Spring said.

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Damaris’ success wasn’t without struggle.

Following an accident in her freshman year in which she hit her head, Damaris was diagnosed with a neurological disorder that would come with chronic migraines.

When students transitioned back to in-person instruction from pandemic-caused virtual learning, Damaris was kept out of the classroom due to her ongoing medical issues.

Like any parent, Spring couldn’t bare to see her child in pain.

“There were days where we weren’t sure what was going to happen with the Damaris. There were days she couldn’t get out of bed because her migraines were just debilitating. I mean, there were days when she couldn’t read left to right because of all of the disorders that are attached to these chronic migraines,” Spring said.

Although she was back at home, Damaris’ troubles were far from over. While shifting her focus to her own physical health, Damaris began to fall behind on her studies and as an honors student, she struggled to keep up with the curriculum.

“I was basically teaching myself the material because learning in front of the computer while everyone else is in classes is not easy at all especially for teachers themselves. So I went through kind of having some tutors and going through longer hours of having to teach myself the lessons,” Damaris said.

In what her mother describes as the triumph of the spirit, Damaris remained undeterred by her illness and completed all of her course work in time to graduate. On June 21, Damaris walked across the stage at the BCIT Westampton campus graduation finishing her studies with a 4.5 GPA. But the party didn’t stop there. The real celebration came when, to her surprise, Damaris started to receive invitations from colleges and universities from all over the country to apply for admission.

“I got started on my college applications really late in January, I think so, you know, that’s past regular decision, and so I was on rolling admission. I remember telling my mom I’m not really getting accepted to many of them, because I’m applying so late and my grades aren’t up to par and everything and my mom was just telling me that it still doesn’t hurt to apply,” Damaris said. “I applied to a few of them, and got some answers back. And then after I got answers from the ones that I did apply to, I started to get emails from a bunch of other schools inviting me to apply and getting fee waivers. “

In addition to getting her college application fees waived, the money kept rolling in. Damaris was awarded a grand total of $2,040,772 in scholarship money.

One of the scholarships awarded to Damaris was from the Burlington County School Counselors Association based on an essay she wrote on the special relationship she built with BCIT Westampton guidance counselor Mary-Kate Sabatino who she’s known her entire high school career.

“I’ve gotten to know Damaris extremely well,” Sabatino said. “She was a student who was very clear on her goals in going to a four year college so I had a lot of involvement with her.”

After receiving 26 college acceptance letters, the final decision on where Damaris would continue her studies ultimately came down to getting a higher education close to home.

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In the fall of 2022 Damaris will be attending Stockton University where she plans to major in sociology with hopes to go pre-law and become a medical malpractice attorney. Through all her achievements, Damaris says her biggest motivators in life has always been her family, and to a degree, the drive she possesses herself.

“My mom, my dad, my grandmother, my brother, they’ve always been like my support at every turn. And also, I think in a way I’m my own motivation, because I’m not really the type to want to see results that I don’t like,” Damaris said.

When she’s not buried in books and school work you can find Damaris teaching herself how to play guitar now that she’s mastered the violin. Before getting sick, Damaris was also very involved in sports such as track and field, shot put, and weightlifting. Other hobbies of hers also include playing video games every now and then and dabbling in photography.

“She’s one of those people that I think other people can learn from. She’s special to us of course, but Damaris is every child in Willingboro. She works really hard and through adversity she’s really pushed through,” Spring said.

Sabatino echoes Spring’s admiration for her daughter’s resilience and says she knows Damaris will continue to achieve great things heading into the next chapter in her life.

“She’s compassionate, she’s hardworking, and she’s extremely resilient and I have no doubt that she will continue to achieve success post-secondary in college and her career,” Sabatino said. “She’s one of BCIT’s best.”

Damaris encourages youth like herself to find their tribe.

“I would probably tell them that they need to make sure that they have a backbone, because I couldn’t really go through what I did without relying on my parents, my counsel guidanceors and teachers, and even my church as well,” Damaris said. “There’s going to be a lot of challenges going through school and even go to college or whatever you decide to do after high school. I just think you can’t really get through that unless you have one person that’s always by your side.”

Nicolette White is the Diversity and Inclusion reporter for the Burlington County Times, The Daily Journal and Courier-Post. She is a Temple University graduate with Dallas, Texas roots. Send tips to [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @nicolettejwhite. Please support local journalism with a digital subscription.

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