Homeless High School Student Honored As Valedictorian

Riverdale, GA – Chelesa Fearce, 17, will graduate as this year’s valedictorian from Charles Drew High School with a GPA of 4.466 and an SAT score of 1,900. The average GPA of a US high school student is around a 3.0 and the average SAT is around 1,500 out of a possible 2,400.

Being bestowed the honor of valedictorian isn’t easily earned, as the title is conferred upon the student with the highest academic ranking among his/her graduating class. The valedictorian delivers the farewell address at the school’s graduation ceremony.

This Georgia teenager is a unique, unrivaled model of what persistence and hard work can accomplish as Fearce spent the majority of her high school career virtually homeless, reports WSBTV.

Fearce, along with her three siblings and mother, frequently lived in-and-out of shelters, short-term apartments, hotels, and at times even out of the family’s car – all the while Fearce finding the time and focus to study.

Where others may have pitied and wallowed, the girl persevered, realizing her future was in her hands. Fearce’s success is especially significant when one considers that she maintained her stellar grades while dealing with hunger and instability.

The ambitious student went as far as testing high enough to enroll in local college courses during her last two years of high school. Therefore, when Fearce starts Spelman College in the fall she will be a college junior.

As far as a possible career goal, Fearce would like to become an oncologist. Oncology is the branch of medicine focusing on cancer. She especially liked studying literature, chemistry, and physics which will carry over into college.

The drive must run in the family as Fearce’s sister, Chelsea Shelton, is posed to graduate as a salutatorian, second to valedictorian, from George Washington Carver High School in Atlanta.

Their mother is notably “very proud” and said despite their hardships – as she was often laid off from her job – that she always emphasized the importance of education.

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