- November 27, 2024
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Dalton Price wasn’t always as motivated as he is now.
The former Spruce Creek valedictorian and Student Government Association executive president used to be a slacker in school. He didn’t get good grades, he lacked drive and was lost in life.
“I wasn’t really interested in academics,” Price said. “I have a entire resume of referrals, my grades weren’t that good and then I got things together.”
Price is a Port Orange success story in large part due to his drive to prove people wrong. He wanted to become valedictorian for many reasons, but above all, he wanted to do it because so many said he couldn’t.
Now, Price is a double major in computational biology and policy analysis and management at Cornell. He was the recipient of the Elks National Foundation's Most Valuable Student Scholarship due to his work in school and his work in his field of study.
During this past summer, Dalton worked in San Francisco at "The diaTribe Foundation” a public health non-profit designed to improve the lives of those with diabetes through education and advocacy.
In addition, Price embarked on a three-week backpacking trip in Wyoming as part of Future Leaders Foundation's fellowship program and learned about himself more than he ever had before.
“If I were to help someone and try to instill a quality in them is to love to learn,” Price said. “Everybody makes mistakes or has to learn from things, but it’s all about how you adapt after that. I think that’s what makes someone who they are.”
In moving from Port Orange, where he had lived all of his life, to a place like Ithaca where Cornell is, Price found the differences in things like weather, socioeconomic background and culture to be eye-opening for him.
Price wanted to be in a totally different environment upon graduating from Spruce Creek, and in the college town of Ithaca, he has found a much different place than Port Orange.
“When my friends go through the snow, they don’t think it’s that big of a deal,” Price said. “But I’ll be jumping through it and all excited because it’s obviously something that I haven’t seen much of, so it’s nice to have all of the new experiences, see new things and learn the entire time.”
Price’s story isn’t all sunshine, however, because he has the situation of assisting his brother, who has been imprisoned for his continuing drug problems.
Price wants to use his education to help his family. He wants to be a beacon for the healthcare industry and assist people who need it more than him. He studies the judicial system around the clock to ensure his brother knows his rights and that he can do what he can to help him.
“I have a brother who is incarcerated and I think that’s something most people don’t have,” Price said. “My parents don’t have the money or the influence to be able to do things about it, but I’m trying to because it doesn’t matter what your background is or whether you’re good or bad it’s all about how you adapt to situations. It’s all about being able to adapt and learn.”
