What happens when a girl grows up in a tough neighborhood? When everyone she knows is poor and where drugs and violence are just a part of everyday life?
What happens when the same girl gets pregnant at 17, and it looks like she will just become another statistic, just another sad story in a community full of them?
Well, it depends on the girl. Jahana Hayes didn't have the advantages many young people take for granted. But she did have a couple of things going for her-determination and teachers who cared.
Despite being pregnant and becoming a single mom, Hayes graduated high school. It took some time, but seven years later she started attending community college. From there, she went on to earn her bachelor's degree.
Hayes said she couldn't have done it without the help and support of the teachers she had through her school days. They taught her to never give up on her dreams and ambitions. They instilled confidence and a love of learning. They let her know she could overcome her upbringing and the obstacles in her youth.
Hayes took their lessons to heart. And she wanted to help other kids do the same. So she became a high school history teacher. In the same Waterbury, Conn., neighborhood where she grew up.
And she excelled.
So much so that this week, Hayes, 43, was named the 2016 National Teacher of the Year. There will be a White House ceremony in her honor next week. Then she will hit the road, visiting schools and spreading the word about the impact teachers had on her life and how they are having the same impact on students' lives today.
One doesn't have to go far to hear complaints about public education. And there are plenty of folks out there who will tell you the American Dream is dead.
We think Jahana Hayes would disagree.
Her life is the American Dream personified. She had a dream and didn't let anything stop her. It would have been easy to give up-people do it all the time-but she didn't.
And her career shows that there are still teachers out there who make a difference just a much today as they did in the "good old days" we look to with nostalgia.
There are a lot of Jahanas out there. Folks you never hear about, who never get much recognition. People who have beaten the odds and built a successful life. You see them every day. In most cases, you just don't know it.
They all have one thing in common. They didn't let their past become an excuse for failure. And that's a valuable lesson for all of us.