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Former Homeless and Pregnant Teen Turns Valedictorian

Former Homeless and Pregnant Teen Turns Valedictorian

Former Homeless and Pregnant Teen Turns Valedictorian

Courtesy of FG | Author Unknown

A Chicago teen will be graduating at the top of her class in two weeks as Valedictorian, despite once being homeless and pregnant during her 8th grade year of school.

According to statistics, nearly 5 thousand teen-aged girls will become mothers on any HIGHSCHOOL-TEENgiven year in the state of Chicago and 1 in 4 Chicago Public School students drop out of high school.These statistics usually show that teen mothers do not fare well when compared to not teen mothers when it comes to finishing their education or becoming successful in a career. Trameka Pope was that one teen to break the mold!

Pope was awarded several scholarships and has been accepted to attend a total of 26 universities and colleges. Her scholarship awards will also exceed $80,000 after she graduates from Wendell Phillips High School.

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Pope and her family have gone through many challenges in life, including being homeless as well as Pope giving birth the summer after her 8th grade year, but Pope explained that she never once lost hope that she would someday do great things.

She impressively takes college prep courses at Kennedy-King college during the day as well as Advanced Calculus and three additional classes at her high school. She has even taken on extracurricular activities, such as cheer-leading, National Honor Society, and working at a nearby grocery store. With the support of her school counselors, she was able to go on college scouting tours and apply for several scholarships.

Sources say Pope plans to attend the Western Illinois University in the Fall and she wants to further her education in Social Work with a PhD.

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