It's the biggest prize you can earn at one of our nation's most prestigious universities. This weekend, all eyes at Notre Dame will be on a young man from Huntington who is nothing short of extraordinary.

Graduation is just days away at Notre Dame University. But, Joshua Hammack has much more on his mind than worrying about when his parents will arrive.

“It's just an incredible honor, not just for me, but for my family, my friends and for all of the people that have supported me along the way--for St. Joe, my high school from back home,” said Joshua.

Log onto Notre Dame's website and you can see why Joshua is gushing. Out of a nearly 12-thousand students, the Huntington native is #1--the 2008 valedictorian!

“West Virginia is a state that sometimes gets a bad reputation for its education system and I think this goes to show we've got a lot of great students and a lot of very smart people that can do really great things,” said Joshua.

In a school where historically, football is a winning tradition, academics can also be very competitive. The pool of valedictorian candidates started with 13 students chosen for their near perfect GPA--it ended with just one after reading and listening to the speech Joshua would give at graduation.

“I think Joshua is a wonderful example of Notre Dame. He’s spectacular in the classroom and also community service. He has taken on creative writing outside of the classroom just because it's something he enjoys doing,” said Dennis Jacobs, a member of the Valedictorian Selection Committee.

“It's kind of surreal. It's amazing what he's been able to do. It's been tough on him the last couple of years with his brother's illness,” said Anne Hammack, Joshua’s mother.

Several years ago, Joshua's younger brother, Sean, was diagnosed with rare, aggressive tumors on his spine. They left him confined to a wheelchair.

“At on point he thought about taking a semester off and we encouraged him to stay in and I'm glad he did. He's had a lot of obstacles to and he persevered--he did it,” said Anne.

Last year, we caught up with Sean again and this time he was walking and even playing a competitive game of tennis with big brother—his constant source of encouragement.

“He always wants to do the best. If he's going to do something, he wants to give it his all and encourage others to do the same,” said Anne.

Case and point--Joshua is a little bummed that he missed a perfect GPA by less than one-one hundredth of a point.

“3.991--I got an A- in Accounting for Federal Taxation. That's the one spot on my record,” said Joshua.

Joshua's next step--not one you'd predict. He's going to do public service through Americorps. He'll teach at an afterschool program in Boston. Joshua says it's the best way he can think of to give back for the wonderful opportunities he's received. After that, he’s headed to law school.