Angelica Marie Everson

Angelica's Story

“Mommy my feet hurt!” “Are we almost there?” “I’m tired!” were my childhood litanies to which my mother always responded: “We’ll be there soon!” and “It’ll all be better one day.” Until I turned five, my misfortunes seemed like adventures: homelessness was an extended vacation in a not-so-luxurious motel, walking hundreds of miles made my brother and me experts in pinecone soccer, and relocating from Los Angeles to the ghettos of Birmingham by bus was my chariot taking me to a three-room palace.

School is my safe haven. At school I can escape my deranged family life, enjoy a meal, relax and satiate my curiosity through learning. Education is my priority because I can control it, and if I do well, it will be my ticket out. This changed for a year in sixth grade when I attended a failing school in Birmingham after yet another move. Attending this school was the worst year of my life. I was bullied, laughed at, and made fun of, daily. No one seemed to care about me, and I felt terribly alone. But through tenacity, my mother’s support, and my faith, I survived that awful time at Erwin Elementary, and fortunately we moved to an amazing new school district. While I still lived in a dilapidated apartment, I loved moving to Homewood because it was my gateway to a better education.

Although Homewood High School is academic utopia compared to the nightmare of Erwin, it is not always ideal. My entire life, my family has relied on government subsidies like Section 8 Housing, food stamps, and free lunch. But my poverty is not the norm for most of my peers who live in nice houses and drive expensive cars. I have gotten used to the occasional laughter when a teacher refers to welfare or food stamps but one extreme situation was gut-wrenching. Last year, in AP English, we discussed whether students who can no longer afford to live in Homewood should be allowed to attend Homewood schools. Knowing this could easily be me (and, ironically, it subsequently became me) I listened, in shock, to my classmates – my friends -- argue that poverty-stricken students do not deserve to attend Homewood City Schools. I left the classroom in tears after I heard – loudly and clearly -- almost everyone sending me a message that I did not belong. I realized that many students attending my school are unaware of others’ misfortunes and lifestyles, but now I am no longer upset or hurt from this experience because I know few can relate to my situation.

The reason I am who I am now is due largely to one person – my selfless mother, my backbone, the air beneath my wings, and the person I love most in this world. Mom has sacrificed everything in her life in order to provide a better one for me. During my life I have faced lots of obstacles: homelessness, bullying, abuse, hunger, and intolerance, but through my mother’s love and sacrifices, my faith, my optimism, my perseverance, and my courage, I have overcome these obstacles. I am a better person because of everything I have endured.

College education

American University | Sophomore

Expected Graduation Date: May 2021

Major: Communications

high school Education

Homewood High School | May 2017

GPA: 3.86

Class Rank: 50/270

Top 19%

ACT: 24

Honors

National Honor Society | 2016-present

National Beta Club | 2014-present

Principal's Award | 2013, 2014

internships, work experience& Community Service 

Forestdale Nursing Home | 2013-2016

Blood Drive HHS | 2016

Shiloh Baptist Church Food Bank | 2016

Mercedes Marathon | 2015, 2016

Hosted HHS Relay for Life Dinner | 2015

Spanish Club Fiesta Homewood | 2016

Wrestling Matches - Patriot Duals | 2014-2016

Hall Kent Festival | 2013-2014

Activities and Clubs

Student Activism for Women | 2016-present

Birthday Club President | 2016-present

New Birth Baptist Church Member | 2016-present

Spanish Club | 2015-present

National Beta Club | 2015-present

Peer Helpers | 2014-present

Mat Girls (Wrestling Team Support) | 2013-present

Homewood High School Band | 2013-present

Birthday Club | 2013-present

Show Choir (Legacy) | 2014-2015