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RALEIGH - Unlike many of his St. Augustine's College peers, Anthony Ross doesn't have a traditional home to fall back on as a support system.

Ross, 20, who grew up in Washington, D.C., never knew his father, and his mother couldn't afford to take care of him. After his grandmother died when he was 13, he became homeless. Ross said he survived by sleeping in cars, living in group homes or shelters, or sleeping at friends' homes.

Still, he never became a ward of the state. "I would fear ridicule, to be belittled," Ross said. "I would never open up to that many people; my friends and only certain individuals knew about it because I'm close to them, but with most people I kept it to myself."

When he went to enroll in the public school system, he was turned away because he didn't have a guardian with him. But instead of giving up on his education, he worked several jobs and got his GED. 

"I knew I didn't want to end up in jail or dead. I was afraid to go through that," he said. "I wanted to use my brain and fill my brain with knowledge to conquer my goals and dreams."

Ross said one of the main reasons he stayed on track was the Sasha Bruce House, a group home for homeless youth. The house provided stability, and the Sasha Bruce Youthwork provided tutoring programs.

Ebony Lea met Ross in D.C. when he was on the road to pursuing his college education. At the time, she was program director for College Bound, a nonprofit youth serving organization in the district that focuses on college access and mentoring. Although she was unable to work with him in an official capacity because he was not in high school, she said she saw his potential and worked with him in her free time.

"There was a bit of a learning curve that he had to overcome," Lea said. "He spent a lot of time teaching himself the skill set in order to prepare for the SAT. The GED, that preparation just prepares you for that test, it doesn't really prepare you for anything else. So he had some hurdles."

Ross credits his mentor, Paul Brunson, for also helping him to succeed. Brunson recalls being so impressed with Ross that he said to him, "You name me any one thing you think I could help you with, and I'll help you."

Ross said, at that time, he was actually looking for a ride to visit St. Augustine's campus but instead replied, "I'd love for you to be my mentor."

"I've often found that it's not necessarily intelligence, although he has that, or charisma or one of those very showy characteristics that are the common denominator between success or not. I think it's more or less about curiosity, and he's such a curious guy," Brunson said. "Anything you say to him, his typical response is "why?" because he wants to know more. I think that has led him to be more successful."

Though Ross initially planned to start college during the fall, the process was complex. Barbara Duffield, who works for the National Association for Education of Homeless Children and Youth, said back when he applied for college, there wasn't a box for unaccompanied homeless youth to check on the financial aid form. That has since changed.

Still, Ross succeeded in getting into St. Augustine's, where he started taking classes in Jan. 2009.

He earned a 4.0 GPA his freshman year and currently has a 3.6 GPA as a sophomore that he wants to improve on. He also volunteers actively in the local community - from the Lane Street Playground Build to fundraising rallies to volunteering at the Cornel West Academy of Excellence, which is under the umbrella of Future Black Men of America.

Executive Director Antoine Medley said Ross mentors youth at their Sunday academy program that works with at-risk second- to fifth-grade males.

On seasonal breaks, Ross returns to D.C. and mentors the youth that live in the group home where he once resided.

"I want to make an impact on somebody else's life," he said. "I needed a hand. Now, it's time for me to give a hand back."

His goal after college is to go to Harvard School of Law and to become president of the U.S. He's driven by wanting more for the future generation than he had for himself.

"I want to get married, and I want my kids to have a stable foundation, to live a happy life, to have the family that I never had and also proper education," he said.

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