Trameka Pope, an 18-year-old student from Chicago, has surmounted several challenges. She and her mother lost their homes when she was in elementary school. She fell pregnant in the eighth grade. She also gave birth in the ninth grade. Nevertheless, she went on to graduate first in her class and was named Wendell Phillips Academy High School’s valedictorian.
“I always said that I wanted to make change and I wanted to be in the history books, and I started with myself,” she told Fox 32.
Pope added, “I didn’t give up. I pushed myself hard. And my baby motivated me every day because I wanted to provide for her, and I also didn’t want to be a statistic.”
Pope has received more than $600,000 in scholarships and has been admitted to more than 25 institutions. She intends to enrol at Western Illinois University this fall to get a PhD in social work.
Pope didn’t simply do well in the classroom. She took part in several extracurricular activities in addition to being a cheerleader and a member of the National Honour Society. She even worked part-time at a nearby supermarket.
Pope attributes her achievement to her social worker, Dawn Jackson, the counsellors at her school, and a special non-profit organisation called SGA Youth and Family Services. SGA enables Chicago’s youth, families, and communities to understand their potential and find fresh routes to achievement despite facing significant obstacles and having few resources. The company has a proven track record.
“No matter what background you come from, it doesn’t matter if you have a child as a teen; no matter what people say about you, you still can, you can make it, and you can become something,” said Jackson.