How nervous would you be if you were surrounded by family, classmates, and friends as you were about to receive possibly the best or worst news of your life. We’ll as Brendon Gauthier’s sat at the computer to find out if he had been accepted at his top choice university, Cornell University, he was surrounded by a huge support system. As he read his ACCEPTANCE letter the room erupted in excitement as everyone learned Brendon would soon be a Cornell man.

In an interview with the Cornell Sun, Brendon talked about his experience which went viral in a matter of days. He also gave us a peek at who he is.

When you’re on the outside looking in, you often see the end result of one’s success. Brendon told the Sun, “People see that positive end result, but I would definitely like to say that it did not come easy,” Brendon continued. “Nothing on this grand of a scale comes easy. Everything that has led to this moment was hard.” But he also hopes his hard work and dedication inspires students, despite their race or gender, to believe in themselves and aspire for greatness just as he did and continues to do.

He attributes his success to his mother who raised him without his biological father. She worked tirelessly to provide for him and stayed on top of him about excelling in school. Because she taught him to always put academics before extracurricular activities, Brendon excelled academically while playing football, basketball, running track, and tutoring students.

We hope Brendon has inspired young men and women to believe in themselves and work for what they want. Anything worth having will not be easy to obtain but if it’s truly worth it, you won’t let anything get in the way of your goals and dreams. We wish Brendon much success as he prepares to attend the College of Agriculture and Life Science at Cornell this fall, with the goal of becoming a veterinarian.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg8k0HOGgY4]