It sounds like the plot line for a heartwarming movie, but Gavin Arneson's tale of overcoming hardship and earning college scholarships is anything but fiction.
Life has certainly not been easy for Gavin, a high school senior at Clear Creek High School in Evergreen, Colorado. Sure, in hindsight (and to an outsider), all the loose ends tie up nicely into a great feel-good story, but living through it has been a nightmare for Gavin who, back in December, discovered his dad's lifeless body in their Lakewood home, then just two days later was evicted for his father's neglect in paying their rent. Since then, Gavin has continued to excel in school and in all of his activities, clinching the coveted title of class valedictorian, earning a four-year, full-tuition scholarship to New York University, and -- most recently -- winning the National Honor Society's annual $20,125 scholarship, beating out the 26,000 other students who applied nationwide. He is the president of Clear Creek's honor society chapter, as well as the student council, and has been involved in numerous community service efforts, specifically as president of his school’s chapter of She’s the First, a national organization dedicated to helping girls in low-income countries get an education. He also lettered in cross country and has been the recipient of multiple smaller scholarships. [caption id="attachment_15702" align="aligncenter" width="600"]
Photo courtesy of Clear Creek Courant[/caption]
“I revel in the opportunity to celebrate one of our students who has never allowed any one challenge, and believe me, there have been many, to prevent him from reaching for the stars," Gavin's social studies teacher, Maria Indrehus, said at a surprise school assembly where the National Honor Society scholarship was awarded. "Gavin has overcome challenges that could bring down the toughest of us. His positive attitude and ability to see beyond what is directly in front of him are traits that will lead him to many successes.”
Two days after his dad's passing last year, Gavin learned that his father (who had long suffered from diabetes, blindness, and alcohol addiction) had been using their rent money to buy alcohol. Already 18 but with no place to live, Gavin called family members to help him figure out what to do. He ended up living with friends and co-workers who rallied around him, along with the entire Evergreen and Clear Creek High School community.
It wasn't the first time Gavin had been homeless, however. As a child, he and his older brother stayed in a Nebraska homeless shelter with their mother, shortly before moving to Colorado to live with their dad. Both of his parents had struggled with alcoholism and poverty, he said.
"I told myself I was not going to end up a statistic, a homeless boy who becomes a homeless person," Gavin told The Denver Post. “That was not going to be me. Education was going to be my way out.”
[caption id="attachment_15703" align="aligncenter" width="672"]
Gavin, left, as a child, with his brother and father. (Photo courtesy of The Denver Post)[/caption]
So even in light of the latest life-changing obstacles, he kept his promise, throwing himself into his studies and still working two jobs -- sometimes more than 50 hours per week -- just as he had done since ninth grade. He also insisted on paying rent to whomever was generous enough to let him stay with them this past semester.
“I honestly don’t think I could have done this without the teachers and everyone else here,” Gavin said, quick to acknowledge the support he's had within the community. “They kept me on track and told me to keep pursuing that goal.”
After his high school graduation on May 27, Gavin plans to head to New York and study nursing at NYU in the fall.
“Gavin maintains and upholds the highest standards for himself in everything he does,” Indrehus said at the assembly. “Whether he is participating in class or raising awareness for a cause, he handles himself with the greatest integrity and respect. He demonstrates for us each day what a true citizen of the world should represent.”
Nothing spells out Gavin's hard-earned fairy-tale ending better than the award-winning essay he wrote for a Daughters of the American Revolution essay competition earlier this year: "When I was in third grade, I moved into a homeless shelter in Nebraska with my mother and brother. Now, I am applying to the nation’s top private universities, standing top of my class, and on the threshold of becoming something greater than my past."
