18-year-old homeless boy beats colleagues to become school’s best student, wins full-ride scholarship to Harvard

Richard Jenkins, an 18-year-old American boy who is homeless, defeated all of his high school rivals to win the title of top student in the institution.

Richard Jenkins’ family resided in homeless shelters for the most of his youth. They experienced house foreclosure, lost their home, and spent years living on the streets while experiencing extreme poverty and a number of serious physical conditions.

Their situation served as a boost for Richard who set out to ensure he rescues his family from being homeless and also build a better future for his unborn children. In the sixth grade, one time I was walking from school with my friend, and he was asking me where I lived,” he recalled.

“The shelter looked like a big house — it could have been a mansion. So I told him, ‘Yeah, that’s my house right there,’ because I was so embarrassed to say I lived in a shelter. That’s when I realized I’ve got to buckle in, because I can’t have my potential kids going through what I’m going through now,” he told WHYY.

Midway through high school, Richard Jenkins enrolled in a non-profit after-school program called Mighty Writers, which provided him with support. He received writing assistance from the program, which enabled him to submit applications to competitive and elite secondary schools to further his studies.

After much effort, he was finally accepted to Girard College in Pennsylvania, a full-scholarship boarding secondary school for students from low-income single-parent families.

Richard Jenkins gave everything he had to his academics at Girad College, passing every course with a perfect grade to get a 100% high school record and become the top graduate in his graduating class.

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