Charter school student with 4.98 GPA credits God, parents after being accepted to over 170 colleges

(Daily Caller) – A 16-year-old high school student in New Orleans has credited God and his parents for his academic success which has earned him more than $9 million in scholarships and acceptance into more than 170 colleges.

Maliq Barnes, a senior at International High School of New Orleans, is giving “all glory and honor to God” as he prepares to select which of the 170 colleges he will choose to attend. Graduating with a 4.98 GPA, Barnes praised his parents and a school counselor, Denise James, for their support in helping him achieve his goals, not only academically but also in his extracurricular endeavors on the high school basketball and track and field teams, Fox News reported.

“I think that those are all things that place factors in my success. But one thing that I do definitely know for a fact is that I know I have dreams and aspirations that are long-term [and] that are beyond right now in the next 10- 20 years,” he told the outlet. “So it’s definitely a drive and motivation to kind of push me to do what I have to do now so that whenever I graduate college and move on in life, I could be where I want to be.”

When asked to share the secret to his success, Barnes admitted not everyone is going to have the same aspirations and drive, but encouraged others to follow the dreams they do have, keeping “God in the midst of whatever those dreams are” and making them a priority.

“As a child, it could be easy to kind of get sidetracked to want to have fun. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But I just want to say make your education a priority. It is definitely important. That’s not for everybody, but whatever your dreams and aspirations are, just make it a priority and finish what you start,” he told Fox News.

Though still deciding on the college that will best fit his future endeavors, Barnes stated he not only wants to attend a school that will set him up for success both academically and financially, but wants to be somewhere where he’s comfortable.