High school staff go above and beyond for exceptional student in need

Kim Tran, a senior at Dominion High School in Sterling, Virginia, received a Loudon Future Leaders award last weekend.

Last year, she won the prestigious "Beating the Odds" awards from the Children's Defense Fund.

The well-loved student doesn't just excel at school, she seeks refuge there.

"It's like my refuge, the one place where I feel loved," she told NBC Washington. "I know if I keep working hard good things will come out of it, and that's what I intend to do."

Over the past two years, teachers, administrators and school counsellors have provided the teen with housing, rides to school, and even gift cards for food and clothing.

Tran's "Beat the Odds" bio shared her story:

"Kim Tran was born into a world of adversity and abuse. Kim’s childhood has been unstable: She has moved from place to place, even living out of her brother’s car for a time. As her Vietnamese parents and extended family struggled to gain a foothold in America, Kim struggled to find her place in the family. School has always been her refuge. Teachers have always been her champions. Today Kim is a cheerleader with a strong support system in Dominion High School from teachers and friends who have helped her to overcome the tremendous odds she has faced. Separated from her family, Kim is living with a teacher and his family, who opened their home to her, for her senior year. Kim works hard in Advanced Placement courses, mentors younger students facing adversity and works as a cashier at Wegman’s grocery store to support herself."

"Things got really difficult because my life was very unstable. I had nowhere to go," Tran told NBC Washington.

That's when school staff came to her rescue.

"As I learned what her adversity was, I just couldn't imagine somebody having to deal with it," Scott Russell, one of Tran's teachers, said. "Whenever I knew of something I could do, I tried to do it whether it was school supplies or ride."

Russell's family started inviting Tran over for Sunday night dinners. Eventually, he and his wife invited the teen to live with them.

"She's got her own room and she's got the laundry room, hot water and a refrigerator and all the things we really take for granted," Russell said.

"It kind of meant the world to me," Tran said of her teacher's generosity. "It let me know that people are really kind and not everything is dark and things always get better."

Tran has applied to four Virginia universities. She hopes to study biochemistry in the fall.

Hear Tran's story in her own words below:

My Story: Kim from LCPS-TV on Vimeo.