Homeless 17-Year-Old High School Senior Earns 3 Million in Scholarships Living in Shelter

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It’s hard enough getting through your senior year of high school. The studying can seem endless, the classes are harder, and the pressure to fill out college applications and wait around for monumental acceptance decisions can be immense.

For 17-year-old Memphis, Tennessee, graduating senior Tupac Mosley, though, all of that stress was amplified by an even bigger hardship that he was going through—which was the fact that he didn’t have a home.

Mosley’s father passed away while he was in high school, which left his family struggling to pay the bills. They got behind on things and were ultimately evicted, ending up on the streets in February of his crucial senior year.

Despite such a staggering situation to comprehend, though, Mosley managed to keep up with—and even thrive—in the classroom during his senior year. He finished with a 4.3 GPA, topping his class and graduating as valedictorian all while living in shelters and various temporary locations around the city.

“After my father passed, we fell behind on bills and we ended up getting evicted from our home February 21 of this year,” the teen told Fox News 13. “So, we went to different homes so far and we were blessed to have For the Kingdom.”

It certainly wasn’t an easy endeavor. Finishing at the top of the graduating class requires discipline, hard work, and tons of smarts; even good students with stable home lives can’t always pull it off.

Even with an organization like For The Kingdom—a non-profit that teaches urban youths how to find power and strength in faith—allowing his family to stay on their campgrounds, the senior’s success was nearly unimaginable.

Luckily, the colleges and universities that Mosley applied to were able to see just how special he is. When all was said and done, he had managed to amass a whopping $3 million in scholarships from the various schools that accepted him, an amount that surpassed even his loftiest expectations.

“When I heard that I got $3 million, I was more than elated and excited and astonished that it was that much,” Mosley said, per ABC Channel 7. Even as he gave his valedictorian speech, thanking his friends and teachers for believing in him, he still seemed amazed that he'd been able to accomplish so much.

Mosley is headed to Tennessee State University in the Fall of 2019, where he plans to major in electrical engineering. He won’t have to worry about a stressful living situation while he’s there, either; the school’s president surprised him in the spring with a free-of-charge room in one of the school’s residence halls and a fully paid-for meal plan as well.

As for anyone else who might be going through a similar circumstance or situation, Mosley had some incredible words of wisdom as he picked up his high school diploma that hinted at how he managed to be just so successful.

“Never let your current situation, whatever circumstances you’re going through, be a mountain that you can’t climb,” Mosley said.