Inspiring Story: Homeless Black Teen Named High School Valedictorian

DEBARYLIFE – A homeless adolescent from Louisiana recently graduated with honors from high school.

Elijah Hogan, 19, was selected as one of the Walter L. Cohen High School class of 2024 valedictorians, according to Good Morning America.

Hogan achieved the accomplishment while residing in Covenant House, a New Orleans homeless refuge for young people under 22. His GPA upon graduation was 3.93.

“A thank-you letter to the school, to the staff, to the students, and to their parents for helping us to get past our school years and get us where we are now graduating, going off in the world,” Hogan stated in his commencement speech.

Hogan also expressed gratitude to Jarkayla Cobb, the Covenant House caseworker for his Rites of Passage.

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Over Hogan’s years at the shelter, Cobb said she’s seen him emerge from his shell.

It is traumatizing to reside in a homeless shelter. Cobb said on GMA, “Everything you had to go through to get here is traumatic.”

“He was bashful,” she said. “He was very quiet at first, so it’s amazing to see how much he’s grown and spoken over the last seven or eight months since I’ve been in his life and been able to support and motivate him to pursue everything that life has to offer.”

In the autumn, Hogan intends to enroll at Xavier University with a graphic design major.