A son has a feeling his father is up to something. The young sleuth uncovers a mystery involving orphans and an evil organization experimenting on them. So goes the plot of a dark fantasy a High Point University freshman is developing.

Destiny Mathis didn’t expect to be a writer. As an elementary student she didn’t even like to read stories. “Ms. Pierre at Welborn helped me enjoy reading. She gave us writing assignments, and I learned I liked writing,” Mathis says.

Books became an escape from reality, one that was sometimes hard to face. “My Nana, they found her cancer first. Then my mom learned she had stage four breast cancer.” Both beat the disease, but Mathis still worried about their health. As high school graduation neared, the Andrews senior worried about college. “I was worried about how I was going to pay for it; I am the first child in my family to go to college.”

Mathis knew she wanted to stay close to her family; and after watching her role models navigate the health care system, she decided to study medicine, “so I chose High Point University.” As a GCS graduate, she qualified for a Say Yes Guilford full-tuition scholarship to HPU. “I was really excited, and my mom was in tears,” Mathis remembers when she learned she would receive the scholarship.

The first-generation college student hopes to inspire her younger brothers, and perhaps one day her readers too. Mathis is still working on that book with her close friend, and writing her own story; right now, it looks bright. “I feel really hopeful for the future.”