Homeless High School Student Named Valedictorian Garners More Than $3 Million In College Scholarships

Jan 10, 2023

For Memphis, Tennessee, high school valedictorian Tupac Mosley, the young, ambitious man had much more to celebrate than earning the top spot at his school by the end of four long years. The teen has been awarded in excess of $3 million in college scholarships despite the hardships he faced.

Making his top-of-the-class status and receiving scholarships, Mosley and his family struggled financially and became homeless after his father died back in 2017.

Mosley said that the lowest point of his life was having to sleep on motel room floors, but he continued to apply himself to his studies. He remains thankful for his support system for their role in his success.

Mosley told BBC News:

“If it wasn't for my friends and family, teachers, and counselors who kept me going through it all, I might not be in this position today. They gave me the courage to carry on and never give up. To see my work in a quantifiable way is so rewarding. It's a great feeling.”

At graduation from his high school, Raleigh Egypt High School in Memphis, in 2019, he thanked the school’s principal during his speech and paid tribute to the director of the campsite and nonprofit, For The Kingdom Foundation, that provided his family a place to stay. He said that when the director learned of the family’s homelessness, he let them stay there so they could raise needed funds to secure a new residence.

"The director learnt about my situation and he let us stay there while I could raise some money," he told the BBC.

Despite the tremendous efforts he made on his own, the young man was quick to credit those around him for his success rather than himself.

When questioned during an interview with CNN about where he found the motivation to pursue his studies so rigorously, Mosley was more than quick to credit those around him.

“A lot of the people would say the strength came within myself, but I honestly would like to give more credit to all of those around me, all the people in school, my family members, my friends, they’ve all been a great support to me over my past four years in high school… and knowing they stuck around this long and really being there for me when I needed them the most… they’ve been there encouraging me,” he explained to the outlet.  

In corroboration with this, Lee-anne Cox, Mosley's guidance counselor, said:

"I've been a guidance counselor for 11 years and he's the first student I saw get such an overwhelming response. He is naturally intelligent and incredibly gifted but it was all down to his perseverance."

Mosley now has his own apartment but plans to stay close to the family when attending school in the fall. He has accepted an offer from Tennessee State University to study electrical engineering. He said:

"I have an amazing support system here. They've helped me to achieve this so I will be staying here close to them."

We’re happy to see the young man overcome the difficulties he faced while trying to build the foundation for his own bright future, as well as to see so many members of his community step up to support and aid him as he pursued his ambitions. We wish Mosley all the best in his future endeavors!

What do you think about Tupac Mosley’s efforts to overcome his difficult situation to try to create a better life for himself through education? Do you know any similar uplifting stories? Let us know, and make sure you pass this along to your friends and family who would feel inspired by Mosley’s journey.