“Everybody just wants to help, and teachers want to help every student learn.”

Lucas Currier, an 18-year-old Liberal Arts student from Exeter, has been awarded a $5,000 scholarship from Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. through Route 79, The Duchenne Scholarship Program. The scholarship rewards outstanding post-secondary students with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Currier says the scholarship will help him pay his first-year college costs. “Really, I won’t have to pay any money for the first year of Great Bay, so it’s really helpful,” he said.

Sarepta Therapeutics makes medicines for rare diseases, and Currier is one of its clients. The scholarship is available to students with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a progressive, degenerative muscle disease.

Currier was among 21 winners nationally, chosen by an independent selection committee. This is the third year of the scholarship program. “With each new class of applicants, we are reminded of the varied interests, skills, and goals of these bright young people. Their perseverance and resiliency, particularly in the face of the challenges and uncertainties brought on by COVID, set a powerful example for others living with Duchenne,” said Diane Berry, Sarepta’s Senior Vice President of Global Health Policy, Government and Patient Affairs.

Currier is studying liberal arts and is considering a career in sports management or something related to environmental studies. He enrolled at Great Bay so he could explore his interests and options in a community-oriented college environment.

“Because I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, I felt like Great Bay could prepare me a little more than another college, say a four-year college. Great Bay was the right choice to prepare me for whatever I want to go into,” he said.

Living with muscular dystrophy is hard, Currier said, “but I really try for it not to affect me too much. I try to stay very positive and persevere through whatever challenges I may face,” he said.

Being involved with the caring community of Great Bay makes the challenges easier to overcome, he said, praising Karen Frisbie, Great Bay’s coordinator of Disability Support Services, for being responsive to his needs and his teachers for being welcoming and kind.

“Everybody has been great. Everybody just wants to help, and teachers want to help every student learn,” he said.