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New Jersey high school senior Dylan Chidick is proof that anyone can beat the odds, no more what obstacles get in the way.
A Trinidad native, Chidick’s family moved to New Jersey when when he was just seven years old. After relocating, Dylan, his mother, and his younger twin brothers struggled financially and ultimately became homeless. However, instead of succumbing to his familial hardships, Chidick used his family’s struggle as motivation to excel as much as possible.
“I believe that education is the key to basically the world. Nobody could take away the knowledge that you have,” Chidick told NBC News. “They could take away your job or your money, but knowledge that you have in your brain, nobody could ever take that away.”
With a good head on his shoulders and determination to keep him going, Chidick has been the class president of Henry Snyder High School for the past three years. He also serves as the vice president Henry Snyder’s National Honor Society. As if that isn’t enough on his plate, the soon-to-graduate senior is a Jersey City Youth Ambassador.
His focus and hunger for higher education has now led to 17 college acceptance letters from various schools including Xavier University, William Patterson University, and Morgan State University.
But the good news doesn’t stop there.
Since Chidick’s story surfaced, he’s received an unprecedented amount of support, so much so that people have offered to help pay his tuition and room and board to ensure he can attend college (stress free) and embark on a well-deserved future. Dylan plans to study political science eventually work as a lawyer. He also wants help take care of his family, and help his mother, Khadine Philip, reach her dream of opening a Caribbean restaurant.