Apr 28, 2009 4:06 pm US/Pacific
Shelly Bibbins: Succeeding Without Parents
Teenager succeeds in school, even without parents, permanent home, or money
RICHMOND (CBS 5) ―
Shelly Bibbins is not homeless in the way we've come to think of it- with a shopping cart, sleeping in doorways. But, she has no permanent home, no parents, and no safe place to call her own. Right now, she's staying with family friends, but she's moved four times since her junior year in high school. "I think I cope with hardship well now," says Shelly. That's an understatement. She's totally on her own, living on about $7,000 a year in social security benefits. Her mother has passed away, and she's not really sure where her father is.
"I've been teaching for 9 years and I have never met anybody like Shelly," says her teacher at Salesian High in Richmond, Celeste Williams. "She is the most resilient person I've ever met."
And, says Williams, "she is as smart as a whip…just absolutely amazing." Shelly has a 3.9 and was accepted with a full scholarship to Pomona College, but has decided on U.C. San Diego. She likes the idea of going to a bigger school. She wants to major in Environmental Science.
Celeste Williams didn't know anything about Shelly's living situation, until her sophomore year, when she missed her final in Geometry. The counselor came in and told her Shelly's father-figure, her best friend's father, had been shot and killed. That was just a tiny window into her chaotic life. Shelly was effusively grateful, when Ms Williams told her she could make up the final later. It struck her teacher as an indication of how rarely Shelly had been given breaks. "She has this incredible work ethic, asks for nothing and smiles as often as possible, and is actually a joy to be around. Now how on earth is that possible?"
Even before Shelly's mom died. life was never easy. Her father left when she was five. Occasionally, they would get collect calls from him from various correctional institutions. Her mom fell into a deep depression, when Shelly was eleven, and tried to kill herself. Shelly was the one who called 911. Later, her mom suddenly died in 2001.
It was enough to push Shelly into her own troubles, missing school. She writes in her Students Rising Above statement, she realized, "what I was doing would eventually put me exactly where my dad was (prison), so I stopped cutting class. It just wasn't worth it anymore."
In her interview with CBS5.com, Shelly talks about how she got through all this. "I learned to express my feelings and identify problems," she says.
Her natural intelligence surely made a difference. "School is a place she's actually wanted," notes her teacher, and it was as stable, unlike the rest of her life.
Karate helped her too. Shelly has a black belt, and loves teaching it to children. "I really love teaching karate because I'm living proof of the kaqrate way of life!" she says. "Respect, discipline, and some optimism are key, and I always embed that in whatever lesson I'm teaching".
Through all this, says her teacher, "she is one of the kindest people I know."
"I can't make sense out of some things," says Shelly, "but I never blame myself anymore. There are just some things that I can't control in my life. All I can do is look ahead and hope tomorrow will be better."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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