During high school, Diamond Jones lived out of her car for several weeks after her mother died and her father was in jail.
She eventually spent her senior year living with a foster family.
Marshun Burgess struggled in high school due to a reading disability. He grew up with his mom and his sister, who has special needs.
He is the first in his family to get a scholarship to go to college.
Jones and Burgess are the exact types of students that GEAR UP, a grant-funded U.S. Department of Education program, aims to help.