A determined 17-year-old boy named Lamont Newell has achieved exceptional academic success after graduating from high school with an outstanding 4.40 GPA despite battling homelessness for years.
His remarkable performance earned him admission and scholarship offers from 65 universities across the United States, including an Ivy League institution.
Lamont graduated as the valedictorian of Verbum Dei Jesuit High School, where his journey became a powerful story of resilience, determination, and refusing to allow difficult circumstances define his future.
Lamont's Story and How He Did It
Growing up in Los Angeles, Lamont and his family struggled with housing instability for much of his life. He explained that moving from place to place became a normal part of his childhood.
“We’ve always been moving my whole entire life. I couldn’t give you an age where we were homeless because it was from a time span, but those were the main issues,” Lamont shared.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding his living situation, Lamont remained focused on education and worked tirelessly to build a better future for himself.
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While many students might have become discouraged, he found strength through after-school programs, extracurricular activities, and basketball, which helped him maintain stability during difficult moments.
Lamont also credited the teachers and mentors at Verbum Dei Jesuit High School for helping shape his academic journey.
One of his teachers introduced him to opportunities that later inspired his passion for engineering.
“My biology teacher, she’s actually one of the directors in the robotics team. She also nominated me, my sophomore year, to go to NASA in Houston, which actually sparked my engineering interest,” he explained.
Inspired by his mother’s experience of not having the opportunity to apply to many universities, Lamont decided he wanted a different story for himself.
“The main reason I wanted to apply to so many schools was my mom didn’t get to go to the college she wanted to go. She didn’t really get to apply to as many as she wanted to. So my plan was to do the direct opposite,” he said.
His hard work paid off in an extraordinary way. Lamont gained admission and scholarship offers from 65 universities and eventually chose to attend Columbia University, one of the most prestigious Ivy League schools in the United States.
Reflecting on the achievement, Lamont said he has always dreamed of exploring opportunities beyond California.
“I’ve been more than ready. I always wanted to leave California and explore parts of the world,” he said.
The Verbum Dei Jesuit High School president, Fr. Travis Russell, S.J., praised Lamont for his determination and character, saying his success represented the strength of the entire school community.
Looking ahead, Lamont hopes to study Industrial Engineering in college and dreams of studying abroad in Egypt in the future.
Looking back at everything he has overcome, he encourages other young people facing challenges to remain confident in themselves regardless of their circumstances. “I would tell people to be themselves and always believe in themselves,” Lamont said.
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