This Philly student lost a brother to gun violence. Now, he’s got a full ride to college — and beyond.

George Lane learned how to read when he was 3. An honor roll fixture, he was named student of the month so often in elementary school that officials told him he couldn’t win anymore so other kids could have a chance.

So when Lane, 18, sat holding his breath on a recent Sunday night, waiting to hear if he would be named a Gates Scholar — a distinction that comes with a full-ride scholarship for undergraduate and graduate degrees at any school of his choosing — his mother had a feeling about what was coming next.

“I knew in my heart,” said Danette Williams, who treasures every trophy and certificate her son collected. “George is a hard worker, and he’s done a whole lot — not just at school. I was extra, extremely excited.”

Williams was right, too. Nearly 50,000 students applied for the award, which is open to students from economically disadvantaged households; just 750 were chosen nationwide.

» READ MORE: This Philly school has 3 Gates scholars, and got its first acceptances to Harvard, Yale, and Cornell

Lane, a senior at Academy at Palumbo, is one of a remarkable three students from that Philadelphia magnet to win the life-changing scholarship this year. The others are Brandon Chiu and Denisia George.

Lane’s accomplishments are built on a foundation of talent and hard work, but also come from deep loss: He feels propelled, always, by the losses of two brothers — one to gun violence, another to cancer.

“They are my motivation,” Lane said.

Lane grew up in North Philadelphia, the youngest of five children, born 18 years after his next youngest sibling. The baby was a blessing, Williams said.

He never met his brother Taron Coaxum, who died of a rare form of cancer at age 16.

In 2008, when Lane was a toddler, his brother Troy Coaxum was shot and killed at 21st and Dauphin.

Troy’s death, in particular, shaped Lane’s life.

“George keeps to himself,” Williams said. “He’s never been in trouble; he was always interested in doing something great.”

Lane spent the first 11 years of his school career at Sankofa Freedom Academy Charter. School was easy for Lane, evidenced by the trove of trophies and certificates Williams keeps as mementos of her youngest‘s early years. But sometimes Lane felt frustrated.

“Sometimes, I would get mediocre grades because I was bored; I didn’t see the point,” Lane said. He started buckling down more in middle school, Lane said, and it was around then when he met City Councilmember Isaiah Thomas, the school’s basketball coach. Lane became involved in “Enough is Enough,” a student-led campaign centered on addressing Philadelphia’s gun violence epidemic.

Standing outside City Hall as a ninth grader in 2022, Lane told a large audience that Philadelphians experience gun violence-related trauma every day.

“No mother or father should have to go through the feeling of burying someone they gave birth to and raised up for all their lives,” he said.

Thomas remembers being immediately impressed by Lane, a middle schooler who commanded his peers’ admiration and respect not just with his skill at basketball or the beard he grew as a preteen but by how he carried himself, what he said, and what he did.

“He’s just a really good kid,” Thomas said in an interview.

Lane started an internship in Thomas’ City Council office. He was named to the Philadelphia Youth Commission and is now its chair. He taught younger children at a Freedom School summer program.

Though he loved the community at Sankofa, Lane felt he needed more academic challenges and extracurricular opportunities; there were no Advanced Placement classes available to him at his old school. He transferred to Palumbo in 11th grade and quickly established his place in his class — 4.0 GPA, National Honor Society, Black Student Association, sports photographer, medical club.

“Everybody knows who George is,” said Chris Donnelly, George’s school counselor. “He’s well regarded, he’s friendly. I had another student who had transferred in who was struggling, and I said something to George, and he befriended him, because that‘s the kind of guy he is.”

Lane is his intern, Thomas said, but also feels like a member of his family in some ways, someone whose opinion the Council member seeks out.

“Most of the people in City Council know him, and he’s just got a great reputation,” Thomas said.

Even before winning a Gates scholarship, Lane, a first-generation college student, had choices: He was admitted to a long list of colleges, including Harvard, Morehouse, Howard, and the University of Pennsylvania, plus Temple, Albright, Arcadia, Bucknell, Villanova, Cheyney, Swarthmore, University of Delaware, Delaware State, Jefferson, Emory, Xavier, Clark Atlanta, and more.

Lane chose Temple. Some people scoffed, he said — with his grades, test scores, and accomplishments, why didn’t he go Ivy, or out of town?

“The reason I got my accomplishments was helping out my community, and I don’t want to leave — I want to finish what I start,” Lane said. “I don’t believe you have to leave Philadelphia to be successful. That leaves a lack of role models here, and I want to be the person I had, or the person I wish I could go to growing up.”

If Lane’s advocacy was motivated by his brother Troy, his career path was chosen by his brother Taron.

“One of my biggest dreams when I was younger was to find a way to cure my brother,” said Lane, who will major in biology and hopes to attend medical school to become an oncologist.

He does not take for granted the enormity of what he has accomplished.

“Just seeing all the sacrifices my mom and my other siblings had to make — I’m able to live out the dreams they wish they had,” he said.

Lane has a lot to brag about, but that‘s not who he is. After graduation, he’s not taking the summer off — he plans to spend time at City Hall, continuing to work in Thomas’ office. Without the Gates funding, he would have lived at home to save money, but is now looking forward to moving into a Temple dorm in August.

Lane reflected on the honor on social media.

The Gates, he said, “opens doors I never thought possible. It means freedom from financial barriers, access to invaluable mentorship and career development, and a lifelong network of leaders and changemakers. I didn’t just beat the odds, I’m determined to rewrite them.”