ATLANTA – Fred Dukes recently walked the stage to receive his high school diploma from Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta, Georgia. What made this young man’s achievement so much sweeter was that he did it while being homeless and without any family support.

Dukes, who scored a 24 on his ACT and has a 3.0 GPA, had been homeless since December. His mother moved to South Carolina for a job, but he opted to stay behind.

Dukes decision meant that he had to live without any family support. Dukes stayed with any friend who had extra space. A close friend of his, Malcolm, allowed him to stay at his place if needed.

In December, when he was forced to stay in a homeless shelter in downtown Atlanta, Dukes says life got really tough. “I got into an altercation with a couple other people that were staying here and they wanted to take my stuff, my belongings,” said Dukes.

Dukes is not the only young person to overcome homelessness in pursuit of his or her education.

Eboni Boykin, who earned a full scholarship to Columbia University, despite being homeless for much of her childhood. These back-to-back stories can never grow too repetitive. Just as we see negative, non-stop commentary and reporting about the ills of our community, we have to be as aggressive in highlighting the great feats our young people overcome to realize their goals.

He plans on attending Coker College in South Carolina in the fall where he wants to major in business.