Thomas Schwab is an 18 year-old homeless student who had all of the odds stacked against him in life. Though he didn’t even have a place to sleep at night, Thomas managed to not just make it through high school, but also to graduate at the top of his class!

After Thomas’ family was hit with some hard times, he ended up being homeless for most of 11th and 12th grade.

“We weren’t able to find another house to live in,” he recalled. “I floated around from people’s houses, or I stayed outside.”

Thomas’ mother moved away to take a new job, and his siblings went to live with their father, leaving Thomas to fend for himself alone.

“If I’m worried about whether I’m going to sleep tonight in a bush, or if I’m going to be able to get a ride over to school, or walk six miles, it’s very hard to focus on what you need to,” said the teenager. “Will I be able to stay warm tonight? Or, will it rain? How will I stay dry? What if somebody comes and tries to stake my stuff?”

Despite everything he was facing in life, Thomas was able to graduate as the top student at Murray High School with a 4.0 GPA, and to maintain a positive attitude throughout his time there!

“I love learning,” he said, adding, “I love education, and I love improving myself. I feel education is one of the best ways to become a better person. … School has always been very important to me.”

“When it comes to opportunities,” Thomas continued. “I always take advantage of them.”

“He’s overcome all odds, I’d say,” teacher Ryan Moffett said of the student. “He has risen above everything.”

Thomas said that now that he has made it through high school, his “future is pretty secure.”  The brilliant teenager is preparing to enter the nuclear engineering program with the Navy, leaving for boot camp on June 18.

“I’m going to join the Navy, and I will be going through the nuclear engineering program, which is the hardest program in the Navy,” Thomas said. “I’ve got the dedication and the wherewithal to do so. So I’m pretty set in stone about it.”

The sky is the limit for this amazing young man! Find out more about him in the video below, and SHARE this story so your friends and family can see this as well!