Four years studying political science and communication at Samford University. Then law school. Then back to Jacksonville to practice law. Then enter the political arena.
Good thing the Jacksonville High grad earned a full scholarship. It's worth more than $120,000 to the private Baptist school in Birmingham.
"He knew that unless he had a full scholarship he would not be going there," said mom Val Morris. "… And so he went after it and he got it."
The Beeson Exceptional Scholars Scholarship covers tuition, housing, fees and also a semester in London, where Bo plans to be in 2012 when the Olympics come to town.
The Samford panel interviewed 250 candidates for the scholarship, cutting it down to 140 and then 25.
All the interviews made it a nerve-racking process, he said. But it was worth it when he ripped open the letter.
"And he opened it up and said, 'I got it,'" his mother said. "And we were totally shocked but not surprised. Because he wanted it so bad.
"And he usually gets everything he wants because he works very hard and he goes after things," she added. "He is amazing."
The school awarded eight scholarships. Bo, who turns 18 Wednesday, said he likes Samford because of the people, the positive environment.
"Pretty much everyone is really happy," he said.
And that's important, considering it's his first time away from home.
Bo has to maintain a 3.3 GPA to keep the scholarship. It's doable, he said. After all, he held a 4.0 GPA in high school and graduated fifth in his class.
Maybe he'll join a few clubs in college. At Jacksonville High, he watched his grades soar the more extracurricular activities he participated in. He led the school as senior president and student council vice president and also was the Key club president.
Since age 15, he also worked at the YMCA, as camp counselor during the summer, and after-school counselor throughout the year at Kitty Stone Elementary, helping students with their homework. One of the kids even came to his graduation.
"It's a good experience because a lot of kids don't have the best background …," Bo said.
"It's a really big deal when little boys get to refer to me as, 'Daddy.'"
Bo begins his college career in August.
