Athens High School graduate Isaac Dorning stands with his father, Steve Dorning, following Athens High School's May 24 graduation ceremony. Dorning will attend Auburn University this fall on a Minuteman Scholarship.

Recent Athens High School graduate Isaac Dorning not only has big dreams, he’s got the plans to make them all come true.

With aspiration to become a commissioned officer in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps, where he hopes to serve as a military paralegal, Dorning is already well on his way. He will attend Auburn University in the fall on a Minuteman Scholarship, which covers four year’s of tuition, room and board, books and even a monthly stipend. Established in 2015, the scholarship is awarded to standout ROTC recruits who enlist in the Army Reserve and commit to monthly drills and 14 days of annual training.

As an undergraduate, he plans to major in political science and minor in history in preparation for law school.

Eventually, Dorning would like to have the qualifications to practice both civilian and military law as a defense attorney.

Service to God and country run deep in Dorning’s family. His father, Steve, is a retired sergeant who now serves as the executive pastor of Friendship United Methodist Church. His older brother is a second lieutenant in the Army National Guard.

“Being a lawyer is a very tangible way for me to help people who are in a vulnerable place,” he said. “But my ultimate purpose is serving my country.”

Convinced that he wanted to be a lawyer since the seventh grade, Dorning said he chose Auburn because “a lot of people I respect spoke well of the education and university as a whole.”

After visiting the campus, he was sold.

“Experiencing the environment down there, talking to other poli-sci majors showed me that it would be the ideal place for me to attack my undergraduate degree,” he said, adding “it will be a good place to start my independent life as an adult.”

Dorning believes the education he received at AHS and the teachers who supported him over the years prepared him for the rigors of college. In addition to maintaining a 3.8 GPA while juggling football, golf and basketball, Dorning was also a member of Beta Club, the National Honor Society and the Octagon Service Club.

“I have the principles I need to rely on to work toward my goal,” he said. “I just need to take each challenge one step at a time and I feel like I can accomplish what I’ve set out to do.”

More than anything, Dorning said the values his father has passed down to him will carry him through college and beyond.

“He raised me to have a spirit to serve others and be the hands and feet of Christ,” Dorning said. “From a young age, he showed me that the need is out there and that I should be a vessel God can work through.”

After graduating from Auburn, Dorning hopes to attend the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in Birmingham.