Statistically Destyni Tyree was not supposed to graduate from high school especially not in 2 years. Why? Her story is one that we hear far too often when families fall on hard times and sometimes people let their situations get the best of them, but not Destyni.

When Destyni was 14 her mother lost her job and with the cost of living in D.C. being astronomical Destyni and her family had to move to a homeless shelter. General D.C. is the largest homeless shelter in the city and it was now Destyni’s home.

This rough, unforeseen change turn her world upside down. The stress from her living situation affected her performance and attitude at school. She told ABC News, “I had a lot of issues with classmates and teachers. It was just too much.”

Everything changed for Destyni when she started attending Roosevelt S.T.A.Y. High School. Her principle Eugenia Young saw something special in Destyni and knew she was capable of being great.

People don’t care about how much you know, they care about how much you care. At Roosevelt they showed Destyni that they cared and they spoke life into her, letting her know that she could do whatever she put her mind to. Sometimes you have to move past the curriculum and encourage your students to be great. The encouragement she received gave her faith in herself.

Destyni took extra classes during the school year, she even took summer classes while working part-time at an ice cream parlor. Along with her academic success she was involved in school activities. She started to first cheerleading team at Roosevelt and organized a senior trip to an amusement park. She also convinced her principle to host a senior prom, where of course she was crowned prom queen.

Her story is powerful because sometimes we don’t realize that faith is all we need. Her circumstances had her in a negative mental space but her principle saw something in her and encouraged her and she bloomed. After graduating high school with a 4.0 GPA she received a scholarship earning a full-ride to Potomac State College of West Virginia University.