Elijah Hogan, a Louisiana high school student experiencing homelessness, was named valedictorian of Walter L. Cohen High School in spite of the challenges he faced. Elijah, 19, lost his mom at a young age. He lived with his grandma since he was 11, but the owner of the house they were renting decided to sell the property, meaning they had 30 days to vacate. Elijah told CNN that he decided to "live on [his] own to lighten [his] grandmother’s burden." He ended up at Covenant House, a shelter serving youth under age 22.
He credits several people, including his mom, with helping him succeed.
He continued to focus on his education for his mother and grandmother. “I know that’s what [my mother] would have wanted," he told CNN. Additionally, he thanked staff at his high school and Covenant House for helping him succeed.
He told Good Morning America that his last year of high school was "tough and rough" and "had a few trips and falls down." He added that despite those challenges, he was "all right."
Then, when he found out he had been named valedictorian, he couldn't believe it, he explained to CNN.
“I thought they were mistaking me for someone else, but when I looked at it and I was shown evidence that it was me, I was in awe, like, I was jaw dropped,” he told the outlet.
He graduated with a 3.93 GPA and plans to attend Xavier University of Louisiana, where he hopes to study graphic design.
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Jerel Bryant, CEO of Collegiate Academies, which runs the high school that Elijah attended, said that Elijah achieved what he did because "of his character and the choices he made day after day to pursue his dreams."
“His success is also a testament to how capable and excellent our Black youth are, in New Orleans and across this country,” he continued, as per CNN.
