by Melissa Brunner

We often hear about how odds can be stacked against kids - if they live in a lower-income area, if a family member is involved in crime, if they're raised by a single parent.

I recently got to know a young man who is proof that, if you expect those kids to achieve and can instill those expectations within them, too, they can and will rise above. Highland Park High School senior Jamon Fulton faced all of those circumstances in his life (I'm not sure he'd call them "obstacles") and risen to make the honor roll every semester while excelling as a student-athlete, too.

Jamon and his mother, Kim Cushinberry, were gracious enough to share their story in the new issue of MVP Magazine. Jamon was honest about his life and his reflections on it. I hope you'll be inspired to 1) rethink the challenges you think you might facein life and 2) never count out anyone because of the place from which you think they came.

Here's a link to the issue: http://issuu.com/tkmagazine/docs/march2013mvp?mode=window