A Louisiana student living in a homeless shelter overcame hardship to graduate at the top of his class from his New Orleans high school this spring.
Elijah Hogan, 19, received his diploma this spring as the top of Walter L. Cohen High School’s class of 2024 and plans to attend college in the fall.
But it wasn’t easy: Hogan had overcome years of homelessness and was living in Covenant House, a New Orleans shelter for young people under the age of 22.
He attributes his success not only to his own hard work and determination, but also to everyone at the shelter and school who worked hard to help him excel.
“There were people who helped me out and without them I wouldn’t be here right now as the alumni representative,” Hogan said. Speaking on ABC’s Good Morning America.
“Over time, I started to build relationships, I met some great people, I got to know a lot of people and I built relationships and trust with them,” he said.
The freshman finished his senior year with a 3.93 GPA and was one of two valedictorians for Cohen, a New Orleans charter school,’s 2024 class.
He said his speech at the May 24 commencement ceremony was essentially a letter of gratitude to the school, staff, students and parents for helping us get through our school years and get to where we are now, graduating and entering the workforce.
Hogan said he was a nervous teenager when he started at the school, but through the strong relationships he built there, he developed into the confident young man he is today.
He especially thanked Jana DeCoster, Cohen High School’s director of student activities, and Jahkayla Cobb, Hogan’s Rites of Passage caseworker at Covenant House.
Cobb recalled watching Hogan slowly come out of his shell over the years after he first arrived at the shelter.
“Being in a homeless shelter is traumatic. Whatever you went through to get here is traumatic,” Cobb told Good Morning America.
“He was very shy,” she continued, “and barely spoke a word at first, but it’s been so amazing to see how much he’s grown and become a better speaker in the last seven or eight months that I’ve been able to be a part of his life and push and encourage him to pursue everything the world has to offer.”
Hogan, an artist, plans to attend Xavier University in Louisiana this fall and major in graphic design.
The university has offered him tuition assistance, and Hogan has set up a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to cover housing and other living expenses.
He urged those looking to follow his example to “be strategic about your education, because without it you will never be able to overcome difficulties or meet the people who have helped you along the way.”
