Homeless teen from Georgia proved that he was not going to let obstacles get in the way of pursuing a college education.
Police officers found 19-year-old Fred Barley sleeping in a tent on the perimeters of the Gordon State College campus and rather than giving him a ticket for trespassing, they listened to his story.
According to WSB-TV, Barley told the officers that he was determined to register for classes for his second semester of college and in order to do that he had to bike six hours on his younger brother’s bicycle. He traveled with two duffel bags filled with all he owned, two gallons of water and one box of cereal to eat.
However, there was a slight problem. The campus dorms don’t open until August. As a result, Barley pitched a tent and planned to camp out there for a few weeks.
Barley spent last Saturday searching for a job and soon after returning to his tent, officers found him.
The biology major, who dreams of going to medical school one day, told the police his story and they immediately decided to take action.
They brought him to a local motel and paid for his next two nights.
Acts of kindness did not stop there.
The officer’s wife posted Barley’s story on a Facebook page, exposing hundreds of people to his situation, including Casey Blaney.
Blaney and the owner of the motel paid for him to stay in his room until he could live in the dorms, which are allowing him to move in early.
DB Pizzeria owner Debbie Adamson was also touched by this story and summarily hired Barley as dishwasher.
“I created a position for him before he walked in my door. I didn’t know his name. I didn’t know the color of his skin. I didn’t care. I’ve been there so I guess I had a soft spot for anyone who is that determined to succeed in life,” Adamson said.
Barley is still in shock by how much support he has received.
People have donated clothes, school supplies, shoes and a new bike, and they are even working toward purchasing him a car. On top of all of this, Blaney set up a Facebook page called Success For Fred , and a GoFundMe page that has raised over $40,000 in just three days.
“Some of the gifts aren’t as important as the friends I’ve made. More important than everything — the clothes, the shoes — the relationships mean so much more to me,” Barley said.