HINESVILLE — Over Memorial Day weekend, Madison Crowell hosted a party to celebrate her recent graduation from Liberty County High School. It was your typical graduation cookout: a tent providing shade in the family’s backyard, ribs on the grill, and family and friends showering the new graduate with gifts.
Madison, however, had a lot more to celebrate than most recent grads.
The 18-year-old Hinesville resident was accepted into more than 200 colleges and received nearly $15 million in scholarship offers, believed to be a national record. Her achievements earned her the nickname “Million Dollar Scholar,” as well as letters of congratulations from President Joe Biden, Gov. Brian Kemp, and Senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff.
Before she could celebrate, Madison had to navigate a roller coaster of a senior year that included a family medical emergency. She says the key to her success — beyond her stellar GPA and steadfast work ethic — was support from her parents, friends and community.
“It was like having a bunch of aunties and uncles cheering me on as I kept meeting milestones,” said Madison.
‘Digital warboard’
Growing up in a military family, Madison has relocated and switched schools on seven separate occasions. She was born in New York, and since then the family has lived in New Jersey, Virginia, and Colorado, before landing in Georgia to finish 8th grade at Midway Middle School.
Madison’s parents, Melissa Langley and Army Sgt. 1st Class Delando Langley, said they made sure to expose their daughter to the idea of higher education from a young age.
“From the time I had Madison, I knew that I didn’t want my story to be her story,” said Melissa. “I didn’t graduate college, not because I didn’t have the skill set to do so, but because I didn’t have the means to do it, and I didn’t know at such a young age how to navigate that.”
Not only did the family tour college campuses together since Madison was in middle school, but the young scholar already has six college credits to her name from a monthlong program at the University of Alabama.
“Although I finished college, it took me 20 years to pay off my student loans,” added Delando. “I didn’t want her to have that burden, so scholarships, especially merit-based, were always part of our game plan.”
Credit: Stephen B. Morton for The Atlanta Journal Constitution
Credit: Stephen B. Morton for The Atlanta Journal Constitution
Madison graduated with a 3.8 GPA. She was also a varsity cheerleader, lead basketball manager, managing editor of the yearbook staff and vice president of her graduating class.
She and her parents approached college applications with a well-thought-out strategy.
“When we started, we were looking at about 30 different schools, and within that group, probably half of them Madison was really seriously focusing on,” said Melissa. “We categorized the schools by size: small, medium, large. Then we categorized them by reach: the schools that we knew she could get into versus the more selective schools.”
In addition to those top 30 colleges, Madison and her mom used resources like Niche, Georgia Match, and the Common Black College Application to apply to dozens of colleges at once.
The family kept track of it all with their “digital warboard” — an impressively organized Excel sheet they could each access and update at any time.
Family separation
Madison’s first college acceptance came in early August from Northern Arizona University.
Two weeks later, her mother Melissa underwent a kidney transplant, leaving Madison home alone to begin her senior year of high school.
“Because of complications, I had to stay at the hospital for a month,” recalled Melissa. “My husband was by my side, but Madison was home alone and it was so nerve wracking. I wrote letters for her to read on graduation night and prom night, because I didn’t think I would be here.”
However, Madison says she never felt truly alone.
“It was definitely stressful, but I stayed with friends some nights,” said Madison. “Our principal at Liberty High — that’s my rock! She would call and check up on me, or ask me to text her pictures of my dinner at night. She made sure I was good.”
“I’ve known Madison since middle school,” said Principal Debra Frazier, who has been an educator for 39 years and is a proud product of Liberty County schools. “Madison, being the bubbly and mature person that she is, would not show her true emotions, but at that age, I knew that had to be difficult.”
Madison called her mother twice a day, updating her on the college acceptances that were now arriving with rapid speed. By the time her mom came home in late September, she’d been accepted to more than 50 colleges and Madison wondered if they were being pranked.
In December, Madison’s father, who is typically stationed at nearby Fort Stewart, was deployed to Poland, causing another untimely separation for the family.
“It was hard missing some of those milestones she was reaching,” said Delando. “I missed Christmas, but I promised her I’d be home for prom and graduation, and I was.”
Decision time
By February, Madison had raked in 130 acceptance letters and $5 million in scholarships. That’s when regional news reporters started to take notice. Since then, Madison has been featured on Good Morning America, CNN, BBC and countless other news outlets.
“You should see the way her fellow students support her,” said Frazier. “You would have thought by now they would have been like, ‘that’s enough of the Madison story,’ but they celebrate her every chance they get.”
During the spring, Madison went to prom, took finals and prepared to graduate alongside her classmates, with both parents there to cheer her on. When she walked across the stage in May, she’d been accepted to 231 colleges and received $14.8 million in scholarships.
“I’m so glad that God spared my life so that I could be here to witness it,” said Melissa. “It is not about the schools or the money. It’s just about how she’s going to be able to love what she does. She’s going to be able to live out her purpose.”
Credit: Stephen B. Morton for The Atlanta Journal Constitution
Credit: Stephen B. Morton for The Atlanta Journal Constitution
On May 1, known as college decision day, Madison announced that she will attend High Point University in North Carolina to pursue a degree in exercise science. It’s a field that combines her interest in medicine with her love of sports and her penchant for helping others.
The young scholar initially had her heart set on attending the University of Alabama, which also had accepted her. But she says High Point won her over for its incredible dorms, safe campus and personalized welcome.
Madison has given three commencement speeches at other local schools and her parents have hosted college prep workshops with students and their families. Through a partnership with Melissa’s employer, the family was able to pay off all the negative school lunch balances in two separate schools.
“We’re not professionals,” said Melissa. “We’re just two parents who were intentional. It’s not about the scholarships — I can give you all the websites in the world, but it’s about being intentional with your children and setting them up for success early on.”
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