“When you try not to focus on the bad, good will eventually come to you. So I tried not to focus on the bad stuff that was happening, even though there was a lot of bad stuff happening,” he said.

Christian’s surviving on the streets caused him to be absent from school. Despite periods of not showing up to school, Dallas ISD’s homeless education program gave him access to resources and his counselor at Wilmer Hutchins HS.

“He kept coming back. The determination…I’m just full, cause he’s gonna go places,” Almethia Smith, Christian’s high school counselor said. Christian was awarded a full scholarship by the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff to be in their marching band.

“I’m a musician. I’m good at what I do. I know I’m gonna go to college and that’s gonna line me up to do what I wanna do for my career and that’s gonna line me up to get out of the position I was in,” he said.

He stated that he is focused on his bright future despite everything that has happened in the past, but he promises to return to his hometown one day as a champion of hope for others.

“There’s too much going on out here to not wanna help…help the people in the situation I was in. Help the people who can’t afford some stuff. Help the people not get evicted. Help the community. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done around Dallas,” he said.