A TEENAGER WHO LIVED IN HIS CAR DURING HIS HIGH SCHOOL YEARS HAS BEEN OFFERED MULTIPLE COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS
Many high school students face academic pressure and anxiety, but one young man named Max Jones has had additional challenges. The student had to live out of his car for several months, attending classes in the morning and working in a restaurant in the afternoon to make ends meet. At 19, the future appears to be considerably more promising.
“It was just long, long months of me just not having anywhere to go,” Jones told CBS 6. “I want people to know that there are people like me in the world. I went through a lot.” Jones' situation was the result of family troubles, as he, his mom, and half-siblings had difficulty finding stable housing—a situation worsened by his and his siblings' fathers being absent, forcing Jones to step up into an adult's role from a young age. “As they were pulled away, that’s when my mom started getting pulled away more mentally,” he explains.
Because of the complex surroundings, Jones decided to start a new life by purchasing a bus ticket from his hometown of North Carolina to Richmond, Virginia. "I experienced a lot," Jones said to WDTV 5. "I spent a lot of time without a home." He bounced around a few houses before using the money he made from working at a restaurant to buy a car. For the young student, this moment held great significance amidst the challenges.“That car was my best friend,” he says. “For me, it represents adulthood.”
Teachers and mentors at Richmond High School for the Arts saw that Jones was using his car for studying, eating, and sleeping. When possible, they placed him in motels in an attempt to assist him. After learning about Jones' predicament during a visit to the school, Pastor Robert Winfrey of the New Life Deliverance Tabernacle decided to intervene because he recognised the young student's potential.
“When I asked him about his GPA, and the first thing he said was it could be better, and I asked what that looks like and he said he had a little better than 3.0,” Winfrey recalls. “All I could say is wow. All he needed was that one push and thank God, so far he got that push.” The pastor offered Jones a place to stay, shower, and study at the church. “I wanted to make sure that he wasn’t completely dismantled because of his situation,” Winfrey says.
The senior in high school started to get support in a way he had never experienced before. Jones says, "It gave me more confidence to keep doing what I'm doing, but it also kind of eased the weight off my shoulders." The prognosis has improved since then. In addition to receiving his high school diploma, Jones was awarded more than $100,000 in full-ride scholarships from other colleges, such as Paine College in Augusta and Ohio State.
Ultimately, the teen has chosen to attend Virginia Union University in the fall. Jones says, “I’m going to change the world and I’m going to give back to everybody that gave to me. Everybody.”
