User:TheronEarsman81
Teen mom overcomes troubled past to win college scholarship (and she's a valedictorian too)
By EMILY ANNE EPSTEIN
Published: 21:11 BST, 6 May 2012 | Updated: 01:22 BST, 7 May 2012
4
View
comments
This 17-year-old single mother beat the odds to find herself not only her high school's valedictorian, but also looking forward to a promising future as a winner of one of the most prestigious scholarships in the country.
New Haven, Connecticut teen Shaylah McQueen told News8 that the taunts and whispers of her classmates at The Hillhouse High School pushed her to become the young woman she's always wanted to be.
She is one of 1,000 students across the country to win the Gates Millennium Scholarship, which will fund Miss McQueen's education at Wilson College.
Scroll down for video
Winner: New Haven teen mother Shaylah McQueen is one of 1,000 students across the country to win the Gates Millennium Scholarship
Motherhood: Her unplanned pregnancy during her junior year was very stressful, but she kept her eye on the prize: building a future for herself and her one-year-old son
Miss McQueen had to overcome many obstacles before she could stand proudly on her own.
'To this day my own dad disowns me, but I still love him dearly. It doesn't matter,' said Miss McQueen to News8.
RELATED ARTICLES
Previous
1
Next
A dark corner of America: Photographs show Philadelphia's seedy, drug-fueled underbelly and its inhabitants'... Drunk driver who killed boy, 14, in hit-and-run crash faces justice after witness tracks him to his home and...
Share this article
Share
She is one of eight siblings, ranging in age from two to 18.
Her unplanned pregnancy during her junior year was very stressful, but she kept her eye on the prize: building a future for herself and her son.
Future Forward: She is also the valedictorian of the Hillhouse High School and hopes to be an English teacher
College bound: At Pennsylvania's Wilson College, she'll be able to live with her son in a dormitory set aside for single parents and their children
'I'm gonna woman up and be mature and responsible for my child and myself,' said Miss McQueen to News8.
Thanks to her will and determination, she was chosen from among 24,000 applicants to win the Gates scholarship.
Miss McQueen's education at Pennsylvania's Wilson College will be fully funded by the grant.
She'll be able to live with her one-year-old son in a dormitory set aside for single parents and their children.
Hard Work: During her senior year, she worked as a tutor, in addition to being a student and a mother
Believer: She said that despite her classmates taunts, she never lost faith in herself and her little boy
The bright student plans to become an English teacher.
'I love to enrich, and I love to empower the youth and everyone else around me,' said Miss McQueen.
During her senior year, she worked as a tutor in addition to being a student and a mother to her little boy.
She worked with the Peabody Museum, New Haven Reads, and the Special Olympics and even founded the Attendance Buddies club at Hillhouse which helps mentor freshman students and encourages better attendance.
'If you don't love yourself, you're going to be dictated by what people are saying,' said Miss McQueen.
Teen mom, top student earns scholarship: wtnh.com
Look at my site: NEW88