A homeless 19-year-old guy outperforms classmates to receive a full scholarship to a US university and become the best student in high school.
Elijah Hogan, a 19-year-old homeless child, has outperformed all of his peers in high school to win the school’s top graduating student honor.
Houston native Elijah lost his home one year prior to his high school graduation. He did, however, earn a 3.93 grade point average upon graduating from Walter L. Cohen High School in New Orleans, Louisiana, in spite of the difficulties.
At his school, he was one of four Black male students to be named valedictorian. Elijah, who faced difficulties for the most of his senior year, expressed shock at his accomplishment.
“When I saw it and was shown proof that it was me, I was in awe, like, I was jaw dropped,” he added, adding that he had assumed they were mistake him for someone else.
After the lease on his grandmother’s home expired and the homeowner decided to sell, Elijah, who had lived with her since he was eleven years old, found himself homeless.
He claimed that he had been given 30 days to leave the house with his grandma. “I decided to live alone to relieve my grandmother of her burden after that,” he stated.
Until his grandmother informed him about the Covenant House, a homeless shelter in New Orleans that serves teenagers and young adults aged 16 to 22, he said he had nowhere to stay while his grandma moved into an assisted living facility for the elderly.
Young people can stay at the shelter for up to 24 months without paying rent thanks to the program, which gives them the chance to work while saving money or concentrate on their education. Since then, Elijah has been residing in the Covenant House.
They provided me with a place to stay, a place to eat, and a place to sleep, without which I could not have completed my high school education. I couldn’t have reached this point,” he remarked.
During his valedictorian speech, Elijah remarked that although he found it difficult to live with homelessness while finishing his education, he had help from the staff at both his high school and the homeless shelter.
As time passed, I began to confide in both Cohen and the folks at Covenant House; they were there to encourage and mentor me. I wouldn’t be who I am now without them,” he remarked.
He credits Jarkayla Cobb, his Covenant House case manager, with helping him succeed by never giving up on him. Even when I wasn’t believing in myself, she helped me get through it. No matter what I needed, she was there for me,” she added.
Elijah claimed that losing his mother when he was twelve motivated him to continue his schooling in order to support his grandmother. Elijah gave advice to those who had comparable difficulties and circumstances, encouraging them to persevere and remain resilient.
You have the power to overcome your limitations because you are the bulldozer. That’s what I advise. However, don’t allow it to depress or hold you back. Continue moving forward without hesitation, Elijah said.
“To any race, no matter what color or accent you have, you are your own guiding light. You are your own storybook that you write. Let yourself be the pen that you write on paper,” he added.
Elijah plans to attend Xavier University in on a full-ride scholarship majoring in graphic design. He said he wants to publish his first comic book when he graduates from college.
