Mother of 5 whose graduation photos went viral is now an attorney: 'My life has changed tremendously'
Ieshia Champs was counting her blessings as she made her way through law school while taking care of her five children, ranging in age from 5 to 15. Now the 33-year-old has too many blessings to count after viral fame from one of her graduation photos led her to becoming a motivational speaker and writer. On top of that, she just became an attorney.
On Monday, Champs shared the news on Facebook with friends and followers that she had passed the bar exam she took back in July, saying she had officially become attorney Ieshia Champs. The title is an achievement to be celebrated for anyone who has gone through the difficult passage of law school. For Champs, however, it’s nearly impossible to imagine how much she’s overcome to get here.
“My road from childhood and foster care to homelessness to high school dropout… I cannot believe that God allowed little old me to become an attorney,” Champs explained to Yahoo Lifestyle. “This little girl who didn’t have any hopes, who didn’t have any dreams, who the world had given up on… like, God, you placed me in the position to where now I’m an attorney.”
Although Champs has conquered the hurdles of law school and the bar exam, she’s still balancing a number of other roles and ambitions as she heads toward her future.
From being the primary caretaker of her five children to becoming a motivational speaker and even working on writing her own book, Champs has had a lot on her plate. Still, these are all exciting adventures she’s passionate about taking on — although they weren’t at all expected.
“My life has changed tremendously. You would never believe it, because I could still barely believe it,” she says of what has taken place since photos of her law school graduation went viral in April. “I’ve been traveling the world, me and my children, going to speak and do motivational speeches and just tell my testimony all around the world — something I could’ve never seen for myself.”
Now, she’s inspiring other single parents to accomplish what they never imagined for themselves.
“The messages that I would receive from these single parents, saying, ‘You give me hope and because of you I’m enrolling in school — it was an amazing feeling,” Champs explains.
Beyond those parents, Champs hopes to be a role model for younger girls and boys who need to look beyond their current circumstance to achieve all that they want.
“I don’t care how hard it looks right now. I don’t care if it looks like you’ll never amount to anything. I don’t care if it looks like it’s just too hard,” Champs says. “Don’t conform to your circumstances. Transform your mind and rise above the occasion.”
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