At 16 years old, Destyni Tyree has graduated early and earned a full ride to Potomac State College of West Virginia University. Not only did she graduate early, but she graduated with a 4.0 GPA after winning prom queen, being a cheerleader, and participating in various school activities.
The Washington D.C. teen did all of this while residing in a homeless shelter with her family, and has said her motivation for graduating early was the desire to not live in a shelter when she gets older. Her mother lost her job a few years back and it caused the teen to have to skip around schools until she landed in an alternative school program.
“We not only gave her regular classes, she had online classes and she did Saturday school to make sure that she graduated this year,” principal Eugenia Young told NBC Washington.
Tyree credits her mother and her principal with keeping her motivated which undoubtedly influenced her decision to become a school principal herself one day.
Her words of encouragement? “It gets better, if you work hard enough, if you have that drive, if you have that motivation, it gets a lot better.”
Check out Destyni’s story below: