"Blessed"

18-year-old gives his $40,000 scholarship to other teens
The Story (MSNBC) This is a story of a teenager who did something so generous — so big-hearted — that it’s making plenty of adults swoon.

Allan Guei, 18, was a star basketball player at Compton High School in the Los Angeles area before he graduated last month. He also had a GPA above 3.0, and his good grades made him eligible for an unusual competition: A free-throw contest in the Compton High gymnasium. The top prize: $40,000 in scholarship money.

But Guei couldn’t stop thinking about the seven talented runners-up from the free-throw contest. They, too, had dreams — and very real needs. So, he asked Principal Jesse Jones to make a surprise announcement at Compton High’s graduation ceremony: Guei wanted to donate the $40,000 to the other seven students.

Guei elaborated on his decision to give the money away in an interview with ESPN: “I was already well taken care of to go to school, to go to university for free. ... I felt like they needed it more than I did.”

The Analysis: Honestly, I can’t even imagine having a full scholarship and then receiving a $40,000 scholarship. I would be thinking about buying my mother a car or buying my dad some new gadget as an 18 year old. But for Allan to do what he did, it’s a blessing for not only those seven students, but for him as well. The video below is a shout out to him. As a 17-18 year old, what would you have done?