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RAYMOND – As one of the younger members of a “��«Ӱҵ family,” Drew Shaw understands how unique the bond is between ��«Ӱҵ and its students.

“Growing up, I always knew what the ��«Ӱҵ family was,” Shaw said. “My dad, my mom and my grandparents came to ��«Ӱҵ. I was always involved. We played the Golf Fun Fest every year.”

Drew Shaw

Shaw is a fourth-generation ��«Ӱҵ student, following behind his father, Russell, who is the college’s vice president for Business Services, his mother, Kathy Spann Shaw, a pharmacist, grandfather, Stuart Spann, a longtime computer science instructor, and great-grandmother, L.C. Spann, who was women’s basketball coach. The Central ��«Ӱҵ Academy alumnus and current defender on the ��«Ӱҵ Eagle men’s soccer team often finds himself being a gracious tour guide to fellow students on campus.

Shaw is attending ��«Ӱҵ on the Elizabeth Lloyd Schales Endowment for Excellence, which rewards high-achieving students. In his case, his aptitude rewarded by the scholarship is being used to follow in his mother’s career in pharmacy.

“My mom being a pharmacist started me down the path of wanting to pursue it,” Shaw said. “I love math, chemistry and physics, anything involved like that.

“Being on scholarship has made it easier about not having to worry about the financial situation while I balance school and soccer. Managing time can be pretty difficult during midterms, for example. I’ve spent many late nights studying up for them.”

He’s played soccer in some form since age four and is enjoying to the fullest his chance to begin his college education right in his own backyard. The same goes for his on-campus activities, as he’s a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Baptist Student Union.

The ��«Ӱҵ Foundation awarded more than 600 scholarships in the 2017-18 academic year. The deadline to apply for a scholarship is Feb. 15, 2018. For more information, visit .