Ever since she was 7-years-old, Ieshia Champs dreamed of becoming a lawyer when she grew up. Unfortunately, life got in the way, and she had to drop out of high school after becoming pregnant with her first child.
But more than a decade later, the single mother of five finally got the chance to earn a law degree and turn her dream into reality. The photos from her graduation ceremony with her five children are now winning hearts around the world.
A Surreal Moment
A Texas woman has become an internet sensation after photos of her graduation with her five children went viral on social media. Ieshia Champs is a 33-year-old single mother of five from Houston Texas who just successfully completed her law degree.
The mum-of-five posted a number of graduation photos with her children which went viral on the internet
Champs says that after she dropped out of high school more than a decade ago, she never thought she’d get the opportunity to go to college. But in the recent upturn of fortune, not only did she complete her four years of law school but she also fulfilled her life-long dream of becoming a lawyer – a surreal moment in her life that she got to share with her five children.
Difficult Childhood
In an interview with CBS News, Champs admitted that she wanted to become a lawyer since a very early age, but life had other plans in store for her. She grew up in the custody of her mother who was a drug addict.
There was no one else in the family to truly look after her since she was the only child and her father had passed away many years ago. The 33-year-old mum said that she had no home and no one to provide for her. She would often spend the night at a friend’s house, or whoever would take her in.
Champs was still in high school when she got pregnant with her first child – but she didn’t stay in school for long. As a new teenage mother, child-bearing responsibilities got the best of her and she was forced to drop out of high school to devote her time and energy to her family.
At that point, she was certain that her dream of becoming a lawyer one day was now forever out of reach. After dropping out, Champs immediately got a job at a call center to support herself and the family.
A Series of Tragedies
2009 was the year when things started going downhill for the mum-of-five. At the time, Champs was pregnant with her fourth child, but a series of tragedies and losses pushed her to the verge of committing suicide. It all began with an unfortunate fire which burned down the house leaving her and her family homeless. She soon lost her job as well.
But the biggest blow came when the father of her children was diagnosed with cancer, which eventually took his life. Champs was absolutely crushed.
She had no money to support her growing family and she couldn’t bear to see her children being raised the same way as she was, so she attempted to commit suicide. Luckily, she was saved by a phone call one day from her local pastor who told the 33-year-old-mother that God wanted her to go back to school and become the lawyer she had always wanted to be.
At the time, the idea of going back to school sounded crazy since she already had three children and was pregnant with a fourth one.
Back to School
Champs said that her children helped on her amazing journey towards realizing her dreams, which is why she wanted to share the proud moment with them
In the end Champs decided that if God had faith in her then she should believe in her abilities as well. That is when she decided to enroll in a school to earn her GED and a degree from Houston Community College. She later enrolled in the University of Houston and is now set to graduate from Thurgood Marshall School of Law in less than a month.
The photos from her graduation ceremony which went viral showed the 33-year-old mum with her children all dressed in black holding up signs which said ‘I did it’ ‘We did it’ ‘I helped’ ‘Me too’. Champs said that she posted the photos to show the world her amazing little support system and how her children had played a huge role in helping her get to the point where she is today.
She said that her kids would do everything from helping her learn from flash cards while she cooked dinner to acting as mock jury to listen to her cases. The photos were liked and shared by thousands of people on the internet and serve as an inspiration for everyone that it is never too late to work on realizing their dreams.
