West Hall High School senior Malcom Moon said he has always set his sights on fame, possibly by becoming an actor.

Thanks to a $220,000 national scholarship, he’s now closer to being able to do just that.

Moon was the second West Hall student to be named a Questbridge Scholar. The organization links outstanding low-income students with colleges for full scholarships.

Mauricio Novela of West Hall took the award last year for the University of Pennsylvania.

“It’s pretty cool that two of us got it,” Moon said. “Hopefully this inspires more people to try for it and for college.”

Moon applied for the scholarship last September. The process included more than 10 short-answer essays, long-answer essays and recommendations from teachers.

Though Moon said he is usually a private person, he added the essays he wrote were personal and real.

“I talk about the challenges of the (International Baccalaureate) program and being a minority student,” Moon said. “I also talked about my home life; my mom is a single parent of two.”

“I knew if I got it, (college) would be less of a burden for my family,” he said.

Moon said his interest in academics began at an early age. In fifth grade he insisted on being tested for the gifted program and was accepted. Today, he averages a 4.6 grade point average. Classes such as IB and Advanced Placement are graded on a five-point scale.

The senior involved himself in his acting life with the same intensity. Moon volunteers for each play at school, and a one-act play by his theater group won fourth in the state his junior year. That was also the year he was accepted into the Governor’s Honors Program for theater.

“I’ve always known I wanted to entertain,” Moon said. “I think it would be great to star in a movie or on Broadway someday.”

Between academics and theater, Moon also finds time for a number of other activities. Students voted him the most involved student.

Moon is the senior class vice president, president of the school’s thespian troupe, treasurer of the student council and is involved with clubs such as Beta and National Honor Society.

Moon said he hopes to pursue acting in college and double major in performing arts and broadcasting.

The scholarship is for Trinity College in Connecticut, and Moon said he initially had mixed feelings about the school’s location.

“I wasn’t sure I wanted to go that far, and I was worried about not knowing anyone,” Moon said.

However, he changed his mind after his research. The school has a strong theater program and would allow him to pursue internships in New York, he said.

“I decided it’s the best thing for me,” he said. “It’s an amazing opportunity.”

Moon plans to tour the campus in person this spring.