When Angelo Smith graduated from Lincolnton High School, it wasn’t just a proud moment in his educational career, it was proof that spina bifida couldn’t hold him back.

“When I was born,” Smith said, “doctors told my parents I wouldn’t live to see two years old.”

Since birth, Smith has undergone surgery after surgery, 20 in all, and spent much of his junior year homebound. “There were times when I struggled with the work and thought I would never get it,” he said.

But Smith did, and he graduated with his peers on time in 2011.

Graduating from high school on time was the proud moment Smith shared to become one of ten people to win $20,000 as part of the lottery’s Proud Moments in Education contest. He plans to use the money to travel and learn about different types of music.

In the N.C. Proud Moments contest, the Education Lottery asked North Carolinians to share their proudest moments in education and how they would use $20,000 to create more proud moments. The lottery received hundreds of moving responses. A panel of judges chose 10 winners from the 100 entries that got the most votes. The winners’ submissions and a video featuring their stories are posted on the N.C. Proud Moments website, located at http://www.ncproudmoments.com/.

The contest helped mark the lottery’s 10th anniversary as it raises money to support education programs in North Carolina. Since 2006, the lottery has raised more than $4.6 billion.