ERIC BRADY The Roanoke Times

Johnzelle Anderson of Northside High School has thus far received more than 15 scholarships to support his plans to attend Roanoke College next year. He applied for 93 scholarships while volunteering in the guidance office where they keep applications available.

Johnzelle Anderson, 17, made up his mind that he wanted to go to college several years ago -- and that's when he began saving money to pay for it.

His first job was bagging groceries; he was a 14-year-old freshman at Northside High School. Classmates questioned why he wanted to work so badly.

"I wanted a car and to save for college," Anderson said.

He is one of approximately 1,200 Roanoke County seniors who will graduate today from five high schools.

Anderson plans to attend Roanoke College in the fall; he wants to be an environmental science teacher. He applied for a whopping 93 scholarships to cover the cost of college tuition.

"In my career, I would say the kids I thought did a really good job applied for like 20 scholarships," said Northside guidance counselor Sheila Rust.

Anderson so far has been awarded more than 15 scholarships totaling $13,000, and the letters still are coming in the mail. He expects to be able to pay for two years at Roanoke College with the scholarships and financial aid he will receive. He won't be taking out any loans to fund his education.

"If I have to pay for college on my own, I have to keep on working [now] and not have to worry about it when I am 30," he explained.

Anderson is a host at Applebee's at Valley View Mall. He worked 45-hour weeks to save enough money to buy his car, a 1998 Volkswagen Beetle. He slowed down to 30-hour weeks when he bought the car.

"I don't have to push him to do nothing," said Anderson's grandmother, Maxine Gattie. "He is a go-getter."

Gattie, a cashier at Kmart on Hershberger Road, said Anderson sought the scholarships without any nudging from her.

"She can't help me financially, but she is the family I live with," Anderson said of his grandmother. "She is supportive in that she encourages me to do well."

In Anderson's backpack, there is a tattered maroon file folder filled with scholarship award letters and two packages of thank you cards.

"I send one as soon as I get a check," he explained.

Anderson checked the drawer containing scholarship information in Northside's career center every day for new scholarships.

"Some people considered him annoyingly ambitious, but I never felt annoyed," Rust said.

Anderson said many of his classmates did not bother applying for scholarships because they did not want to write the required essays. Anderson mastered the process and even began recycling essays. He submitted the same essay for three of the scholarships he won.

He said writing the essays was worth the labor.

"One hour of work to the thousand dollars they are giving you, that is a lot more than you can earn at work," Anderson said.