Wynter Allen will be recognized on Saturday at Tiger Stadium during the LSU vs. Alabama game, a public moment that comes after the LSU junior received a $10,000 scholarship tied to first lady Melania Trump’s Fostering the Future program.
Allen said the scholarship arrived earlier this semester after he received a message about the funding and applied. Within the next few days, he got an email saying he had been awarded the $10,000, which he described as a huge weight off his shoulders.
The recognition adds another layer to an already meaningful story for Allen, who said he entered foster care at age 16. He said he was raised in California and described that period as a difficult one, saying life can feel overwhelming when bad things happen and there seems to be no way out.
Allen said the move into foster care brought court dates, lawyers and separation from his family, and that he often wondered how things would improve. Even with that experience, he said he kept working with the same effort as everyone else and did not let his circumstances dictate his life.
“I always wanted to work just as hard as everybody else,” Allen said. He added that he did not give teachers excuses or ask for extra time, because he wanted to stay on the same path as his classmates.
That mindset has carried into his time at LSU, where Allen said he plans to graduate with a degree in journalism. He also said he is grateful for the chance to meet Melania Trump and thank her in person.
“Just to be able to thank her and shake her hand, it’s as simple as that for me,” Allen said. “I mean, it’s exciting, it’s nice to be able to meet the person who’s changed my life and hopefully continues to.”
The scholarship is connected to a $5 million endowment for students who have experienced foster care, giving Allen’s story a broader significance beyond one Saturday recognition. For him, though, the moment is simple: a chance to say thank you and keep moving forward.
“You’ve got to keep going, there’s no time to stop, there’s light at the end of that tunnel,” Allen said.
