Lamont Newell grew up without a stable home, sometimes sleeping in his family’s car. Now he’s heading to the Ivy League.
WASHINGTON — A California teen who spent much of his childhood homeless will get a ride to Columbia University in New York this fall.
Lamont Newell is a senior at Verbum Dei Jesuit High School in Los Angeles. He is the valedictorian of the all-boys school and has a 4.4 grade point average. Newell has been accepted to 65 colleges so far, but he decided to head to another coast this fall.
The straight-A student plans to study industrial engineering at Columbia University.
“I’m very proud, you know, I never thought I’d get that far and be able to go to an Ivy League school, especially in New York City,” he told KABC.
Throughout Newell’s childhood, his family experienced multiple episodes of homelessness, sometimes sleeping in their cars. They also face gang violence and incarceration. he told abc news He credits extracurricular and extracurricular activities with providing stability during his high school years.
“I’ve been moving my whole life,” Lamont told ABC News. “I can’t tell you how old we are homeless because it’s a time span, but these are the major issues.”
He said he applied to so many schools in part because his mother couldn’t get into the college she wanted to attend. He was the first male in his family to graduate from high school.
“She didn’t really apply as much as she wanted. So my plan was… to do the opposite,” Lamont told ABC News.
His goals extend beyond Colombia. Newell said he hopes to build an institution that teaches black students how to enter STEM careers.
