ORLANDO, Fla. – As the class of 2025 crosses the graduation stage, one local grad has overcome tremendous odds to achieve a very bright future.

Raymond Rosa has gone from living at the Coalition for the Homeless near downtown Orlando to committing to Duke University this fall on a full-ride scholarship.

News 6 met up with the Jones High School senior at the Boys and Girls Club in Parramore, where he was also recently named Youth of the Year. Rosa had a long list of potential options for his next step in life.

“University of Pennsylvania was there, Johns Hopkins was there. Rice was there. Cal Tech was there, and a few other big names” said Rosa, who was thrilled when he received a letter from Duke announcing his acceptance and scholarship. “I’m committed to Duke University,” said Rosa.

Rosa’s journey began 18 years ago in Parramore. His parents separated at a young age and Rosa lived with his mom.

“She would find people who would be like, ‘Oh, you can stay over here for some time until you get things situated,’ but then things would always go south for some reason and we always just ended up back at the Coalition,” Rosa said.

At the time, the Coalition for the Homeless in downtown Orlando also housed a Boys and Girls Club on property, which was a turning point in Rosa’s life.

“The club changes lives. And I think that in a circumstance that was so grim, I just found so much joy in the place,” Rosa said.

From playing sports to musical instruments, Rosa excelled in both the club and at school. He and his mom thought they had landed on their feet when they moved into their own apartment in Pine Hills.

“We were stable there for I think a few months and then one night we came home and there were fire trucks everywhere, police officers everywhere,” said Rosa. “Our apartment caught fire; everything literally thrown in flames.”

Rosa was homeless once again, but that didn’t deter him from staying focused and excelling in academics.

“I found blissfulness and peace in going to school because I think it probably was one of the safest places for me to go, but also because it was an opportunity to learn something new,” Rosa said.

This month, Rosa will graduate from Jones High School with a 5.31 GPA, scoring in the top 5% on the SAT.

“I think, I got a 1440,” said Rosa, referring to his SAT score. “It’s okay, by Duke standards at least,” he joked.

Rosa credits an army of supporters, including the QuestBridge program, for becoming a Blue Devil. He was also an Elevation Scholar.

“Elevation Scholars is a group that essentially provides one-on-one college coaching for high achieving, high need individuals,” explained Rosa.

Rosa’s plans for the future include studying physics, with a possible double major in math or engineering. He hopes to become a theoretical physicist to understand how the universe works.

“Honestly, you can impact someone’s life in the smallest of ways, right?” said Rosa. “Giving a compliment, just stopping by to play a little game of basketball, homework help, things like that, they truly do make the difference.”