Meet Destyni Tyree, a 16-year-old student who recently graduated with a 4.0 grade point average two years early.
In addition to her accomplishments, she was also voted prom queen by her peers, was captain of the cheerleading squad, and was awarded the Principal's Award for Academics and Leadership - talk about academic success.
"Accomplished, that's how I feel right now," Tyree said as she looked back her high school years during her graduation.
It may seem that she lives a charmed life but behind the work ethic and the determination to succeed is a difficult upbringing, an adolescence marred by domestic fist fights and living with a claustrophobic condition with 243 other families in one of the most crowded homeless shelters in Washington, D.C.
"It's OK," Tyree said referring to her stay at the homeless shelter. “At first, I didn’t like it because I was used to my own space.”
Tyree's mother lost her job two years ago and the family struggled to support itself in a city with high rent with an evenly high cost of living expenses. Left with not much choice, they decided to move into D.C. General, the city's largest homeless shelter.
The stress of her family's situation initially bubbled over into Tyree's academic life, leading her to pull out of various schools.
"I had a lot of issues with classmates and teachers. It was just too much," she contemplated.
It wasn't until she moved to Roosevelt S.T.A.Y. High School, an alternative program, that she felt motivated to succeed.
Eugenia Young, principal of Roosevelt S.T.A.Y. High School only had praise for Tyree, "As a student, she is a natural-born leader.”
“She is a joy to be around, she has a good heart,” Young added, calling Tyree a “bubbly person” and a “phenomenal” student.
Tyree was able to manage her academic achievements by taking heavy loads of classes including on Saturday and working 25 hours a week at an ice cream parlor. On top of the tedious days at school, she was also involved in may academic activities, launching the school's first cheerleading team, organizing a senior trip to an amusement part and asking Young to host a senior prom.
Asked how she did it, Tyree said, "I just time managed. I just wake up and do what I gotta do."
“The more and more she’s around people who constantly tell her how smart she is, and how she can do anything she puts her mind to, the more she believes she can do anything now,” Young said.
The future is looking bright for Tyree as she's on her way to college snagging a full-ride scholarship to Potomac State College of West Virginia.
Photo: WFAA
Source: Huffington Post ABC News
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