Chamblee High School junior Paisley Maxwell did not let misfortune stand in the way of her academic success.

Growing up in a single-parent household in Chamblee, Paisley lost her mother to breast cancer when she was 10 years old. Paisley went to live with her aunt, another single-parent household, and her three cousins.

“It didn’t really settle in until a year later,” Paisley said. “Even now it’s hard. If I do something great I wish she was here to celebrate with me, but I know she is watching me in heaven.”

This month, the 16-year-old had one of those great moments.

The Indiana-based Simon Youth Foundation named Paisley a Simon Scholar.

The scholarship program provides assistance to students who are underprivileged or face some sort of hardship.

“It was a very exciting moment,” Paisley said about when she was notified she won the scholarship. “I felt great.”

The award offers Paisley a $500 stipend in her junior and senior year in high school, a laptop computer, SAT prep courses and a $4,000 scholarship for her first four years of college.

The award comes after a tedious application process which involved a written application, an essay and interview.

Helping seal the deal for Paisley was her 3.9 grade point average and numerous volunteer hours at the Elaine Clark Center for Exceptional Children in Chamblee.

The Simon Youth Foundation also keeps track of the scholarship winners, monitoring academic progress and meeting with the students on a regular basis.

The foundation even provides tutoring and counseling services if needed.

“It’s a total package that usually is not there for students,” said Chamblee High School guidance counselor Elaine Bryan. “It’s extra help and a needed level of support.”

Ms. Bryan helped Paisley through the application process.

Paisley said she hoped to use her scholarship to attend the University of California at Los Angeles to study biology. She hopes to become a reconstructive plastic surgeon and one day start her own scholarship program for needy children.