A formerly homeless teenager from South Los Angeles who later became valedictorian of his high school while earning a jaw-dropping 4.4 GPA is headed for the Ivy Leagues.
Lamont Newell, 17, who said he received 65 college acceptance letters, will attend Columbia University on a full scholarship to study industrial engineering.
“I felt proud,” Newell told ABC 7. “I never thought I’d make it that far, to be able to go into Ivy League, especially New York City.”
His family struggled with homelessness before they found a home in LA’s South Park, where Newell learned how to code as a child.
“There were times where we didn’t have a roof over our head, but we had a car. We didn’t have a place to stay so we would come and sleep in this parking lot,” Newell’s mother, Antanika Barnes, told ABC 7.
“It was a hard road. I was a single mom. I had Lamont at 21.”
Newell’s mother said she knew her son was destined for greatness.
“As a parent, it is your duty to find out what your kids are good at, and I knew my son academically was a high achiever from a very young age,” Barnes said. “I probably couldn’t have done it myself, but it was my job to figure out who could help and where I could get those resources from.”
Newell ended graduating with a 4.4 GPA and was also accepted to schools like Dartmouth University and Notre Dame. He’s the first man in his family to graduate from high school in a family plagued by gang violence and incarceration.
“This not only means something great to me but it’s very influential to my family as a whole because now the youth that comes after him are going to see that there’s another way out,” his mother said.
The teen said he’s worked hard to set an example for his younger brother, but he is nonetheless stunned by his success.
“You may feel like during your situation there is no path out, but there is always an exit to your destination,” Newell said. “In a million years, we could have never thought we would be in this situation.”