A girl who was born in prison has defied the odds by graduating top of her class and making it into the prestigious Harvard University.
Aurora Sky Castner, from Texas, graduated in the third spot in her class at Conroe High School last week, 18 years after she was born in the Galveston County Jail, per The Houston Chronicle.
"I was born in prison," the 18-year-old wrote in the opening line of her application essay to Harvard University, before being accepted into the prestigious Massachusetts university, according to the newspaper.
Castner's mother was in prison when she gave birth to her daughter, however, she has not been a part of Castner's life since her father picked her up from prison as a newborn and raised her as a single dad.
Despite her rough start to life, Castner has defied the odds to achieve her dream of being accepted into Harvard. She hopes to pursue a career in law.
While in elementary school, Castner began attending a community mentorship program that involves students having lunch with older adult volunteers once a week to give them advice on their goals and futures, etc. Local volunteer Mona Hamby was Castner's mentor, and has been part of her life for close to 10 years.
"I was given a paper about her. Her hero was Rosa Parks, her favorite food was tacos from Dairy Queen and she loved to read. I thought this sounds like a bright little girl. I still have that paper today," Hamby told The Houston Chronicle. "She told me 'I've been to jail.' I said 'No, that can't be right.' I knew that I can't just go eat lunch with this kid once a week, she needed more."
Hamby and Castner maintained a close relationship for years, with Hamby taking the youngster for her first haircut and even going with her to tour Harvard's campus in March 2022.
Castner revealed to the outlet that the mentorship program has helped her immensely. "It was a very different environment than I grew up in and that's not a bad thing. Everything that Mona [Hamby] taught me was very valuable in the same way that everything that I went through before Mona [Hamby] was very valuable."
Though, Castner has always been academically motivated, having received straight As in high school. "There was something satisfying about having all As and having that accomplishment. Grades just meant a lot to me," she said, adding that she's got her sights set on studying psychology at Harvard before pursuing law.
What an inspiration!
