Keeping a Winning Mindset: Drew’s Success Story

When Drew first joined GrantMe, the number of scholarships available shocked him. Here’s how he narrowed his focus by developing a “winning mindset” and won over $60,000 in scholarships.

Blog written by Drew Crix

From a young age, I have fortunately been able to take advantage of many opportunities that without funding would not have been a possibility. I am where I am today partly because of these opportunities that I have been fortunate enough to have. 

I’ve always taken advantage of opportunities that come my way because I learned the impact that they can have on your life. I came across GrantMe in my third year of high school while searching for potential university scholarships I could apply for. I decided to send in an application and see what happens, not sure what exactly GrantMe was about. After speaking to a GrantMe educator and reading into what it was about, I knew that I must accept my offer into the program.

I was shocked by the number of scholarships that I was eligible to apply for.

Before GrantMe, I knew about a few of the major scholarships. However, most of the other scholarships I matched to with GrantMe were new to me. I realized that there was a lot ahead of me but I decided to take the challenge.

My first year as part of the GrantMe Academy program brought many ups and downs. Believing in myself and the GrantMe team believing in me kept me applying for scholarships.

After one year, I was able to win over $60,000 worth of scholarships.

This success has given me the freedom to not have to worry about student debt and to take advantage of other opportunities that come about. I am not worried about getting a job so I can pay for my education. Instead, I can now focus on developing myself and chasing my goals. 

Although the financial success had a significant impact on me, I believe what I got most out of this program was the lessons learned.

I learned that no matter what, it is important to have a winning mindset—you either win or you learn. I learned the importance of taking full responsibility for mistakes in order to understand how to improve. Most importantly, I learned the importance of resilience and self-belief. Keep trying and keep learning and the opportunity for success will come your way. 

My advice for future students in the program is to take advantage of every learning opportunity. Recognize the importance of some of these scholarships. Do not take anything for granted and do not underestimate yourself or others. 


Drew Crix is a 2020 GrantMe Academy program alumnus and a current GrantMe Mentor.

If you want to achieve success like Drew, GrantMe can help. We provide personalized scholarship matches, essay editing, and mentorship from past winners to maximize your success. Complete our short scholarship eligibility quiz to learn more about how GrantMe can help you achieve your post-secondary goals.

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