By EMILY SPARACINO / Staff Writer

CHELSEA – Chelsea High School senior Jake Cotton had no idea he would be receiving a $3,000 college scholarship from the Chelsea Business Alliance until he heard his name called during an awards program May 1.

“I did not know at all,” Cotton said. “I was amazed and excited.”

Cotton, 18, will attend Auburn University this fall, where he plans to major in business administration.

“I would love to be a CEO of a Fortune 500 company in some point in my career, but that will be an uphill battle,” Cotton said.

As one of two presidents of the school’s Future Business Leaders of America group, Cotton applied for the scholarship, which was available to all FBLA members.

“It’s really going to help out,” Cotton said of the scholarship. “It was a great honor, and I couldn’t have done it without the help of our incredible staff here, from administrators to teachers to sponsors. It is really going to make leaving here hard just because of the time everyone has put into me.”

Cotton was also awarded an Auburn Achievement scholarship. He will graduate from CHHS with honors and ranked 18th in his class.

In addition to his FBLA membership and officer role, Cotton has served as vice president of Beta Club, is a member of National Honor Society and Key Club, was a statistician for the basketball team and ran cross country during his senior year.

He is the son of Tim and Pat Cotton. He has a brother, Zach Cotton.

“We are incredibly fortunate to be in a community where our students are the focus,” CHHS Principal Wayne Trucks said. “We really appreciate the efforts of the Chelsea Business Alliance in helping make each day a great day to be a Hornet.”