BEATING THE ODDS....GOOD NEWS

This is what it looks like to beat the odds.
Tyki Nelworth, 18, was accepted to the United States Military Academy at West Point last week after enduring a lifetime of obstacles that would have stopped most people from accomplishing much of anything.

Nelworth's mother is in jail, his father is dead and he has had no permanent home. At one point, he was taken from his mother because of suspected child neglect, and his sister told him he was a "crack baby."

The Los Angeles high school student could have ended up in a gang or on the streets. Instead, the football team captain and student body president will graduate with a 4.2 GPA from Washington Preparatory High School and now is headed to one of the nation's most elite institutions in the fall to become a cadet.

"For me to make it to West Point, that's a big statement," Nelworth told the Los Angeles Times on Thursday. "It means the sky's the limit."

It should come as no surprise that Nelworth's unlikely story has attracted a lot of attention. In Los Angeles, churches and community organizations raised money so he could attend his prom.

"I'm just overwhelmed," Nelworth told the L.A. Times. "I honestly didn't know that there were so many people that cared for me. It's something I definitely won't forget."

Nelworth's acceptance comes with a four-year scholarship. The high school's alumni association paid for Nelworth's $2,000 deposit.

"We have to let him know that his efforts have not gone unnoticed," Laquitta Cole, an alumni board member, told ABC News. "He could've chosen to be a drug dealer, he could've chosen to be in a gang. But he chose to succeed."