Homeless Teen Ramesha Melson Earns Full Scholarship to Georgetown University

Rashema Melson, an Anacostia High School senior and resident of Washington D.C.’s largest homeless shelter, just earned a scholarship to Georgetown University.
“I feel accomplished,” she tells us. “I feel I did something worthy. I feel like I did it. But I’m not done yet.”
What makes Rashema’s story all the more remarkable is when you consider where she comes from. For the past two years, Rashema, her mother and two siblings have been living at the D.C. homeless shelter.
“It’s pushing me to be better, to know what I want in life, and to know this is not what I want, but I have to go through it for the moment,” she said.
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“She is definitely a success story,” said Dora Taylor, a spokesperson with the D.C. Department of Human Services. “She definitely is.”
The department oversees the shelter.
“As you can see, she has no complaints,” said Taylor. “Nothing depresses her. Seemingly nothing brings her down. And she has the right attitude. You know, she expressed to you that she’s grateful despite her circumstances.” “And she’s determined that she’s going to do you know exactly what she needs to do in life to be self-supportive on her own. So we are extremely proud of Rashema.” “I think the toughest part is just moving around before we got to the shelter,” said Rashema. “Because it’s been going on for six years.”
“It’s not hard for me because I want it,” she said. “Like when you don’t want it and you’re just doing it because you have to, it’s like a struggle. But I want to be successful and this is what I want. And that’s my goal in life — to like be successful.”
Rashema plans to be a biology major, going pre-med, and wants to be a forensic pathologist. She is inspired by her father’s murder when she was just a baby.
“I just want to know so much about him,” Rashema said. “Growing up not having a dad, as a female, it’s a really tough thing. You have to learn to love yourself.”
“And just because there’s not an older man in your life to be that dad, you have to just get that from your mom. I wish I had a dad. I think about him a lot.”
article via myfoxdc.com