Homeless Vietnamese guy becomes Harvard student
With no father and parents in and out of prison, Derrick Ngo in the US is determined that only education can help him overcome his fate.
Derrick Ngo from Houston (Texas) was accepted to Harvard University, along with offers from three other major universities. In a recent speech, Derrick told about his life: "It was just dawn and the stench woke me, my lungs burning and my nose choking - it had been a day since the city was hit by a storm. Rainwater was flooding my room. My bed was dirty, I was afraid I would get sick. My stomach was growling...
This is the fourth day in a row that I have eaten a can of tuna and crackers, a little at a time, afraid of running out. I have not had anyone sit at the dinner table with me for two years. Since 10th grade, I have hidden from teachers and friends that I live alone.
When I returned to the bedroom, I saw a new leak in the ceiling. In the pink plastic box were affidavits, fake IDs, court papers, arrest letters... I wondered, how much longer will my mother continue to hide from the police...".
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Derrick's boarding house during his high school years. Photo:Houston Chronicle. |
Derrick Ngo has not known his father since he was 2 years old. His mother was addicted to gambling and frequently went to jail, and Derrick and his six brothers often did not have enough to eat. He had to change schools 12 times from kindergarten to 8th grade. "My mother loved gambling. My brothers and I often had to follow her to the casino and we had to sit in the parking lot waiting for her to come back from gambling," Derrick said.
Born with so many obstacles, Derrick says fighting against adversity is in his genes. It showed as early as 10th grade.
"When you spend every weekend of your childhood running around the casino, while your mom takes everything to gamble, you learn that to survive you have to focus. So when I entered high school, I decided that I had to go to a stable school for four years. To do that, I had to live on my own and not depend on my mom's temporary lifestyle. The only way to a different life was through education," Derrick said.
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Derrick Ngo, 18 years old, from homeless to Harvard student. Photo:Fox29. |
In high school, overnight, Derrick went from a C student to an A student and eventually became the valedictorian of his high school.
In the fall of 2018, he applied to the most selective university in the world. On December 13, 2018, Derrick received the acceptance email, while he was alone in his slum room.
Derrick will be attending Harvard this fall. He is undecided between majoring in philosophy and economics. The future is certainly open to this Vietnamese-American through education.