PHOTO: High school senior Chelesa Fearce, 17, has overcome homelessness to become a star student and valedictorian at Charles Drew High School in Clayton County, Ga. (ABC News)
When 17-year-old valedictorian Chelesa Fearce stands before her Georgia high school graduating class today to give her speech, she will talk about overcoming homelessness and fighting to “get the future that you want.”
Fearce, a senior at Charles Drew High School in Riverdale, Ga., spent most of her high school career living in shelters, the occasional hotel, short-term rented apartments and sometimes the family car — when the family had one — with her mother and three siblings.
“I would just pray,” Fearce told ABCNews.com. “My mom, whenever we’re in that situation, she always finds a way out of it. So I would just tell myself, tomorrow it will not be like this, so take your time, do what you have to do now so that you get the future that you want tomorrow.”
Regardless of where she was living, Fearce found a way to study. She recalled using a cellphone light in shelters to get her homework done.
“I’m so happy that I got through all of this and that I finally have gotten to this point,” she said. “All the studying I’ve done … you don’t know! It was crazy. I was studying science, math, everything. I’m very proud to come this far.”
h/t – ABCNEWS
