School: David Douglas High School
Kaylee’s life has been full of instability: she has attended ten different schools and has moved from homeless shelter to apartment and back more times than she cares to count. Now she works after school to help pay rent so her family will not become homeless again. Most days, she goes to school, then heads directly to work for eight hours, goes home and does her homework, sleeps for a couple hours, and wakes up to do it all over again.
However, Kaylee has never let these hardships weigh her down. She has been researching college admissions requirements since she was a young girl because she knows a college education is the best way to break the cycle of poverty in her life. She balances challenging classes, College Possible and her school’s cadet program in hopes of building a competitive resume.
Kaylee will no doubt succeed, and she plans to encourage as many others as she can along the way.
“Don’t give up,” she advises. “I’ve been through almost every hard thing you could possibly go through, you just can’t give up. No matter what, you have to believe in yourself because there’s always something better out there for you!”
