By the time she turned 18, Khadijah Williams had attended twelve schools. She had lived in shelters, in parks, and in motels, never in a permanent residence for more than a few months. She had tolerated the blames of students who considered her as "different".
Homeless since early childhood, Khadijah struggled all her life to hide her circumstances from teachers and fellow students. However, academics proved to be a way for her to find confidence in herself again. For instance, at the age of 9, she placed in the 99th percentile on a state exam, and her teacher told her she was "gifted". From that moment forward, Khadijah decided to do whatever it took to keep herself in that category. "I was so proud of being smart. I never wanted people to say, ‘You got the easy way out because you're homeless,'" she said. "I never saw it as an excuse."
By the second year of high school, she realized that she could not succeed in getting the further education she dreamed of without getting help to go beyond what her current school could offer. She talked to teachers and counselors (辅导员) who helped her apply to summer community college classes, scholarships, and enrichment programs. And in 11th grade, when she enrolled at Jefferson High School, she decided to complete the rest of her school career there—a decision that meant taking a bus each morning at 4 a.m. and not getting home until 11 p.m.
Her perseverance and hard work paid off, however. When she poured the story of her life into her Harvard University college application, she was accepted.
Once Khadijah felt ready to tell her story, it won her notice not only from college admissions boards but also from the news media, including Oprah, who introduced Khadijah on her show. Now as a successful student at Harvard, Khadijah continues to use the lessons of her extraordinary life to help and inspire other students.
