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When Joseph Gallant, a senior at Hartford High School, passed his Licensed Nursing Assistant exam this spring, his LNA course and exam fee were covered by a scholarship from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation. The foundation also offered a college scholarship, and when some of his teachers and counselors suggested he apply, Joseph decided to go for it. But he wasn’t prepared for the response he received a month later.

“I was just shocked,” Joseph says. “I didn’t think it was real.”

Joseph received a substantial scholarship that will cover most of his four-year tuition at Colby-Sawyer College, where he’ll enroll this fall to study nursing. The award means that he will have zero debt coming out of college.

Beth Clay, who has advised Joseph on the college process for the last three years through �й�������’s Talent Search, a program that helps students explore and enroll in career and postsecondary education options, remembers that day well.

When Joseph sent me the screen shot about his scholarship award and asked if it was real, I responded immediately with ‘Of course it is! You’ve worked hard to make this a reality!’ But he was stunned. He actually called the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation to follow up and make sure it wasn’t a typo.

“I was sure they had put in an extra zero, or that it was supposed to go to another person. I didn’t believe that it could be mine,” Joseph recalls. “I was just blown away.”

Inspired by his grandparents

Growing up, Joseph always imagined he would go to college—a goal inspired by his maternal grandfather. “My Papa’s biggest thing is education,” says Joseph.

He wasn’t able to go to college himself, but he always believed that college helps you grow as a person and sets you up for a richer life experience, even if you don’t get a job in the field you go for. I also believe that education can carry us forward, whether that’s college or trade school. But having that traditional college experience—I just really wanted that, and I think that started with him.

While family is the first thing Joseph talks about when he introduces himself—beginning his story with his gratitude for his entire family, from his mom and dad to his two younger siblings to his cousins—his grandparents have been his guiding force.

While I always had my mom and dad, I have an especially strong connection with my grandparents. They taught me how to hold myself accountable and how to be a good person, and that set the basis for my connection with others throughout my life.

Joseph and his siblings lived with their Mimi and Papa in Quechee until Joseph was seven, when they moved to their house in White River Junction. His family still has dinner with Mimi and Papa once a week, and he’s also very close with his paternal grandparents. “Grandpa was a state forester for a long time, and I love spending time in the woods with him. And Grandma, who passed away last year, sparked my passion for music and theater. She was such a big part of my life.”

Joseph’s grandmother took him to frequent performances at Northern Stage in Hartford and made an introduction that kept him going during COVID, when school performances were put on hold. She introduced Joseph to Eric Love, a now-New York City-based actor who was the Associate Artistic Director for Northern Stage. Love and his directorial team had written a play, , based on caricatures of people in town. Joseph and other young actors went out into the community to research their parts and perform the play at several local schools when the worst of the pandemic started to subside.

Joseph has been in every school play offered at Hartford. He has also acted in local productions of Heathers and Hello Dolly with Trumbull Hall Troupe (a teen and tween theater group), and North Country Community Theatre.

So many ways to help people

When asked how he became interested in nursing, Joseph explains that also started with family. “I have two aunts who work in the field, and seeing the fulfillment they get from their work, and hearing the stories they tell, really inspired me. The fact that you can go into a situation where someone is having one of the worst days of their life, and bring up their spirits even a little bit, is wonderful.”

When he was able to enroll in the health sciences program at Hartford Area Career Tech Center, his classes and co-op experiences at the hospital and a nearby nursing home solidified his interest. “I like the flexibility; there are so many avenues to take and so many ways to go. I could travel the country or the world, or stay in one place, and I can help so many different types of people,” he says.

While Joseph is excited about his future nursing career, he also struggled a bit with the inherent uncertainty of planning one’s future at age 17. He says the advice he received in that area was one of the most helpful things he took away from his participation in the �й������� Talent Search program and his weekly meetings with his Outreach Counselor, Beth Clay. “She assured me that if I ever decide that I don’t want to do nursing, it’s okay to explore other possibilities,” says Joseph.

Despite his understandable concerns, Joseph’s strong interest in biology—he signed up for AP Bio his sophomore year because he was so excited to take it, he recalls—gave Beth a lot to work with as she helped Joseph turn his interests into a penciled-in path for college and career.

“Beth helped me figure out what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go, and what I needed to do to set myself up for that. I would have struggled without her.”

Beth recommended about 35 minutes away from Joseph’s home. “I actually hadn’t heard of it, but when Beth told me about it, I thought, ‘Wow, this sounds great.’ I don’t usually make decisions emotionally, but when I visited, it just felt right. I remember thinking, ‘This place is great. These people seem awesome. I’d love to be a part of whatever community I can find here.’”

Winning—and losing—with grace

Joseph has experienced some big wins during his high school career, from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation scholarship, to a statewide medical math competition at a HOSA Future Health Professionals conference this spring, to countless auditions for plays and musical groups. Joseph has been a part of school concert choirs since the fourth grade, has played the alto saxophone in the school band since the fifth grade, and, in the last year, he joined the high school jazz band for an additional challenge. He especially loved participating in the annual Tri-Town Jazz Night, where the high school bands from Hanover, Lebanon and Hartford all play together.

“I love it all. From festivals to competitions, music has given me opportunities to play and audition both individually and as part of a community. Music is such a great way to connect with others and with yourself. And while it’s exciting to win or get the part, the effort also teaches you how to lose with grace.”