An exceptional 18-year-old boy named Derrick Ngo has emerged as the best student of Energy Institute High School, Houston Texas, United States despite facing the challenges of homelessness.
Derrick spent most of his final year in high school homeless but despite the difficulties he faced, he managed to keep his focus on his studies and his efforts paid off when he graduated with the highest grade point in his class.
“I realized that if I didn’t use school and education and the resources that were available to me, then there would be no way that I would get out of the situation I was in,” he said.
Narrating his story, Derrick told Fox 29 that he was driven by his determination to change his future and that was why he channeled all of his childhood frustrations into school. He mentioned that he grew up amidst gamblers because of his mother’s addiction.
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“My mother was heavily involved in gambling and often, me and my siblings would spend time at the casino with her so we’d be sitting at like the casino garage,” he said.
Derrick said he went to 12 different schools growing up his father has not been in the picture since he was 2 years old and his relationship with his mother was fluctuating as she went in and out of jail multiple times.
“We often didn’t have that much food. We didn’t have that much money. We didn’t have a stable source of income and that was one of my biggest struggles growing up that lack of parental guidance,” he said.
Derrick mentioned that he started living alone at the age of 15, occasionally receiving rent checks from his mother. But often, the rent checks were barely enough to cover his basic needs, and at one point, this made him homeless at 17 years old.
“To become the antithesis of my family and of my mother, is one of the biggest inspirations I’ve had growing up,” he said. He stated that he took the bus to school every day and began focusing all of his energy on creating his success.
He stated that the key to his success is discipline and to never lose sight of your end goals. “In having a vision, you have something that you’re working towards. And although it’s not real yet, it’s something that is going to be real one day,” he said.
He said he applied to four universities in the United States including the University of Texas at Austin, Princeton University, Columbia University, and Harvard University, and was accepted into all four elite universities.
Derrick said he will be attending Harvard University to major in either philosophy or economics. He said he is not sure which career path he will pursue in the future, but hopes to impact change in other people’s lives.
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