Haddonfield high school junior wins prestigious, all-expenses-paid Coolidge Scholarship, only a few awarded in country

As he prepares for his senior year at Haddonfield Memorial High School, Luke Patterson has a big decision to make: What college to attend? He has a blank check to go anywhere.

Patterson, 17, was awarded an all-expenses-paid merit scholarship from the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation. The four-year award will cover tuition, room and board, and related expenses for him to attend any college in the United States.

He was among five students nationwide selected from among 4,200 applicants, said Matthew Denhart, the foundation’s president. He is the first recipient from South Jersey since the foundation began awarding the scholarships in 2016, he said.

“It doesn’t matter to us where they go,” Denhart said in an interview. “The sky is the limit.”

Patterson learned about the scholarship last year when he noticed a track teammate reading Coolidge’s autobiography. The teammate was reading the book to apply for the scholarship.

In order to apply, Patterson was also required to read Coolidge’s autobiography and study policies during his administration, write several essays and get recommendation letters. Applicants must demonstrate humility and a commitment to public service, qualities endeared by Coolidge.

He then traveled to Plymouth Notch, Vermont, Coolidge’s birthplace and where the foundation is located, for a final interview. He fielded questions from a panel chaired by the state’s former governor, James H. Douglas.

“I expected to be nervous, but I actually felt pretty comfortable,” he said. The foundation requests that recipients do not disclose details about the interview process.

Said Denhart: “Luke was just a real star.”

At Haddonfield High, which enrolls about 870 students in grades 9 through 12, Patterson is an honors student, participates on the track and cross country teams, and writes for the school newspaper, covering school board meetings.

Patterson also is a member of the Anti-Bias Club and serves as historian of the Student Council, and has been tapped to help spearhead a project this school year to create a timeline for the school’s 100th anniversary, Principal Tammy McHale said.

“Where good things are happening, Luke is around it,” McHale said.

Patterson also is a cadet with the Civil Air Patrol, a youth auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, and an active member of Grace Episcopal Church in Haddonfield.

English teacher David Scorsolini noted in a recommendation letter that Luke had demonstrated humility in his world literature class, one of the scholarship’s requirements. Patterson showed respect for his classmates and their perspectives, he said.

“It takes a great deal of humility to read, and more importantly, to listen. Luke listens,” Scorsolini wrote in an email.

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Patterson credits his teachers for preparing him to apply for the scholarship. He was surprised when he got a call that he had been selected.

“I was completely shocked,” he said. “Over the next days, I realized how many doors this opens.”

It will ease the financial burden on his parents, who also have a younger daughter, Clara, he said.

“I’m just really proud of all that he has done,” said his mother, Ellen Patterson. “Obviously, the scholarship is amazing.”

The foundation launched the scholarship program to better educate young people about Coolidge, considered one of the least-known presidents, Denhart said.

The program seeks students who embody the principles and ideas that defined Coolidge’s term as the 30th U.S. President. Coolidge was known for his humility as well as his support for political bipartisanship, public education, and local self-government.

This is the 11th class of scholars sponsored by the foundation, Denhart said, and since 2016, nearly 50 students have passed through the program. The foundation also awards smaller scholarships to its top 100 finalists.

The scholars are not expected to follow the politics of Coolidge, a Republican who had a reputation as a small-government conservative, Denhart said. They study his history and public policies and debate at an annual seminar, he said.

Patterson said he plans to spend the summer finalizing his college choices and writing essays. He is undecided about a possible major.

“The really cool thing about the scholarship is that it opens up all kinds of possibilities,” Patterson said.

He is considering joining an ROTC program and possibly becoming a U.S. Air Force pilot.

Patterson wants to encourage underclassmen to consider applying for the scholarship. His advice:

“Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. You never know what might happen,” he said.