As a high school senior with an interest in accounting, Carter Schram has been well aware of the cost of a college education, and how long it could take to pay off that debt.

So Schram worked to earn an associate degree while still a student at North Hills High School, planning to cut his time in college in half from four years to two.

But now he’ll be able to take in a full four-year college experience, and enjoy some other opportunities, too.

Schram, 18, of West View was awarded a four-year, paid-in-full scholarship to Robert Morris University.

With annual tuition running about $37,000, that puts the value of the scholarship at almost $150,000.

Robert Morris President Michelle Patrick presented the full-tuition Presidential Scholarship to Schram on March 25.

Presidential Scholars participate in a unique experiences, gathering once each semester for dinners and discussions centered on their academic journeys and college experiences.

“We do not give very many of these, we only give a very few of them,” Patrick said. “So the fact that you qualify explains how great and how good you should feel about all of your accomplishments.”

This is the second consecutive year that a North Hills student has earned the scholarship. In 2025, North Hills graduate Graham Woodside was also selected as a presidential scholar.

Woodside was vice president of the Future Business Leaders of America club at his school, a position Schram now holds. He remembers hearing about Woodside winning the scholarship.

“It was really crazy getting a full presidential scholarship for a school that’s right nearby,” Schram said. “I knew at that point I was going to apply for it.”

Schram is the son of Brian and Leah Schram. He has a younger sister, Lydia, 16, a junior at North Hills High School.

Carter said he first got the news that he won the scholarship from his mother in February, when he came home from school one day and found her in the living room with a grin on her face.

“It’s a weight off my shoulders knowing I won’t graduate college with all this debt,” he said.

Carter getting the scholarship is huge for their family, Leah Schram said. It also means Carter no longer has to focus on minimizing cost and debt.

“Instead of trying to rush through and not incur debt, it gives him opportunities to explore things and try things,” she said.

While Carter will start his accounting studies this fall, he’s considering taking on a double major, such as psychology.

He plans to become a certified public accountant and work for an accounting firm.

Carter said he’s had an interest in accounting since he was a sophomore. He found it interesting after going to an accounting panel with his FBLA club, and then took an accounting class.

“I had a wonderful teacher who helped me fall in love with the subject. It made a lot of sense to me,” he said. “I thought it would be cool to continue with that.”

He extended more than thanks to his business teachers, Kelle Kanith and Nancy DiNicola, who are also advisors to the FBLA club.

“I don’t think I would have gotten it without them,” he said. “I wouldn’t be in accounting if it wasn’t for them.”