Gardner-Webb Presents Prestigious Tucker Scholarship to Will Brooks of Shelby, NC

Pinnacle Classical Academy Senior is the First Male to Win the Award and the First Recipient from Cleveland County, N.C.

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.—Will Brooks, of Shelby, N.C., is the 2025 recipient of Gardner-Webb University’s highest honor for incoming undergraduate students, the Tucker Heart, Soul, Mind and Strength Scholarship. He is the sixth student in the history of the scholarship to be recognized with this honor. He also has the distinction of being the first male to win the award, and he is the first person from Cleveland County, N.C., to receive the Tucker Scholarship.

Brooks was surprised with the announcement on Wednesday, Dec. 18, at Pinnacle Classical Academy in Shelby. Upon entering the Student Center filled with family, friends, and Pinnacle staff, Brooks was greeted by members of Gardner-Webb’s admissions staff and the University’s Mascot, Mac. Director of Admissions Molly Allison informed an astonished Brooks of the good news.

“This is definitely a surprise,” Brooks declared. Then, he thanked Carolyn and Robert Tucker, who established the scholarship in 2019. “I will not let them down,” he added. “I’m going to work hard.”