In an extraordinary story, a volunteer cop from Queens went from life as a homeless person to making it to Harvard University, she is an inspiration for others.
Athena Capo-Battaglia, 18, always wanted to have higher education as she was convinced it would change her life.
The auxiliary NYPD officer said, “I felt I had to get into college because this is not where I want to stay,” she applied to colleges while living in a shelter. “I was like, ‘OK, this is one way that I can get out and maybe in the future get a good job.’ ”
Her mother and she entered the shelter system two years ago as they couldn’t keep up with the house rent after her mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and her grandmother died.
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