When Jason Goins took a paper route with The Washington Post at age 10, little did he know that the company for which he wakes up at 4:45 a.m. every day to throw newspapers on driveways would fund his college education seven years later.

It's a coincidence that The Washington Post ended up providing both Goins' spending money throughout middle and high school through his paper route and the $65,000 Herbert H. Denton Jr. Scholarship for his college education.

But it's not a surprise.

Goins -- student body president, newspaper editor, school store manager and varsity soccer player at The Barrie School in Layhill -- has always earned his keep.

Goins was selected from more than 200 top black high school seniors, nominated by their schools in Washington, Maryland and Virginia for the scholarship, which will pay his tuition to the university of his choice. For Goins, that means either Harvard or Princeton, whichever offer he chooses to accept.

The Herbert H. Denton Jr. Scholarship is the top financial prize among more than $4 million of scholarships awarded to black students from the non-profit Project Excellence Program, which is funded by individuals and various companies. However, Goins' particular scholarship is funded by The Washington Post publisher Donald Graham.

When asked why he thinks he was picked for the scholarship, the modest Goins, who lives with his mother and grandmother in Upper Marlboro, answered, "I haven't a clue. I wouldn't even want to try to guess. All I can say is I felt like I had done my best."

According to The Barrie School's upper school principal Bruce Vinik, Goins' best is above and beyond that of even the brightest students at the demanding private school.

"I can honestly say I've never worked with any student in any school who makes things happen as well as Jason," Vinik said. "He's as good as it's going to get anywhere."

Milton Coleman, The Washington Post's deputy managing editor who headed the scholarship selection committee, said Goins reminded many of the selection committee members of Herb Denton, the scholarship's namesake, who was the first black city editor at The Post.

"What we liked about Jason was his presence. He's very mature, beyond his years," Coleman said. "He can engage a room in conversation. He's smart and he has a strong independent streak."

Vinik said he has counted on Goins' leadership for most of the nine years he has been a student at Barrie.

"Jason is outstanding by any measure," Vinik added. "I think he has a very powerful intellect and I think he draws the best from people around him, inside the classroom or outside of it."

Outside of school -- though it is hard to imagine him having much time outside of school considering his level of involvement -- Goins has his paper route, which he delivers even on weekends and holidays and in blizzards.

He is also involved in a community group called Operation Understanding D.C., which works to repair racial relations, especially between blacks and Jews.

"I hope to spread information I've learned about race relations, how to deal with anti-anything remarks ... how to increase understanding and decrease miscommunications," said Goins, who completed a semester-long internship at a Jewish newspaper, The Forward, last year.

Although his current career plan is to become a lawyer, Goins is also interested in journalism, especially after editing the school newspaper for three years, and psychology, following the lead of his mother, a psychologist whom he calls his role model.

As for his prestigious scholarship, Goins said while he is proud to be recognized and rewarded for his hard work, he is even more proud of the group of students against whom he competed.

"Being a young, black male, seeing people like me is really rare," he said. "Here, you had hundreds of good, black students who applied, and that is inspiring."

Still, the victory from the intense competition for the scholarship was sweet for Goins, who had to present a five-minute speech, then, as one of four finalists, be interviewed by an 11-member panel.

"They said, 'If you win, they'll call you between 9:30 and 11 p.m. If you lose, they won't,' " Goins recalled. "At 10:04, Milton Coleman called."