Harlem teen Angely Tejada is just one of hundreds of incoming freshmen starting classes at the State University of New York at Delhi on Monday, but unlike most of her classmates, she was homeless until she recently moved into her upstate dorm.
The inspiring 18-year-old student spent all four years of her high school career living in the Women in Need shelter in East Harlem with her family.
Making the journey from the mean streets of Manhattan to SUNY Delhi’s lush, tree-studded campus wasn’t easy, but Angely said all the hard work was worth it.
“I was always shy, but I really closed myself off,” the teen recalled last week as she sat in her new dorm room. “I didn’t speak to anyone because I didn’t want them to know. My teachers really helped me. That’s why I am here.”
Angely overcame the stress of shelter living and an arduous commute to the High School of Applied Communication in Long Island City to excel in school — stumbling blocks that might’ve stopped other students in their tracks.
The humble teen said her teachers boosted her confidence and helped her navigate the confusing college application process. They urged her not to focus on her current living situation, pointing out all families have their struggles.
“It was really stressful,” said Angely, who graduated from high school in June. “I felt like I wouldn’t be able to pay for anything.”
But the once shy student is now looking forward to the start of classes and playing basketball and softball at college.
A natural athlete, Angely hopes to study for a career in the field of sports. “I’m looking forward to getting my education but also enjoying it here,” she said.
Angely is one of 11 teens from WIN’s 10 city shelters who are heading off to college this year with the help of federal and state financial aid and support from WIN.
The 33-year-old city nonprofit provides housing for roughly 4,700 homeless people including 2,700 children at locations in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan.
Three of the WIN students including Angely received scholarships of $1,500. All the WIN students heading to college also received tutoring, help with applying to college and financial aid, plus free computers donated by Microsoft and other school supplies.
WIN president and CEO Christine Quinn said the nonprofit spends about $500,000 each year to help prepare all of its 328 college-aged residents for higher education.
“They’ve had a hard lot in life but if you look at what these kids are doing, they’re brilliant,” Quinn said. “If they don’t go on to college to fulfil their promise, we’ll have no idea what the world is missing out on.”
Other WIN students who graduated high school in 2016 are headed off to John Jay College of Criminal Justice, the Borough of Manhattan Community College and SUNY Buffalo State, among other colleges.
Those kids are the bright spots in the city’s crisis of homeless youth. About 12,000 residents of city shelters — about 20% of the total shelter population — are children 5 years old or under, Quinn said.
The most recent available data show about 86,700 New York City school children were living in homeless shelters or temporary housing in the 2014-2015 school year, up a whopping 70% since 2007-2008, when nearly 51,000 homeless students attended city schools.
Education Department officials have rolled out a slew of new services to deal with the ballooning homeless numbers, including new literacy programs inside shelters and added health care services in schools with many homeless kids.
City Education Department officials don’t have an official tally of how many homeless kids end up in college, but schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña praised the WIN students for their success.
“I’m incredibly proud of the graduates and their families, who have demonstrated extraordinary perseverance and are now heading to college,” Fariña said.
