As Jordan Shelley prepared for the weekend's graduation activities at Skagit Valley College Friday, he thought of his biological mother in Ethiopia and the difficult days of his childhood growing up in a mud hut.
"You had to grow up really fast," he said.
Jordan's father died from a simple infection he got while working. It left Jordan's disabled mother to beg in the streets and the young boy to work odd jobs at the age of just 7 years old to survive.
Watching his father die is something Jordan carries with him to this day.
"Unfortunately, we didn't get to have a proper burial. They just came, put him in a van and that was that," said Jordan.
Soon thereafter, Jordan and his two siblings were adopted by Lanny and Teresa Shelley of Whidbey Island.
Jordan had never even heard of America. He couldn't even dream of life outside his poverty-stricken village.
"Wherever you could walk within a half a day, that was your universe. You don't know any more than that. People might tell you stories, but it all sounded too fictional," he said.
Fast forward to May 30, 2018.
With two years under his belt at Skagit Valley College, Jordan was awarded a Sydney S. McIntyre Scholarship, which provided a full ride to study pre-med at the University of Washington.
At just 18 years old, Jordan credits the sacrifices made by those along the way for his success: a father who worked hard, a mother who wasn't too proud to beg to feed her children, and two loving parents in America who believed in Jordan and gave him the ability to dream.
"You can only go so far with dreams," he said. "You need people to help make them come true. I want everyone to know I'm definitely not forgetting the people who sacrificed for me."
After becoming a doctor, Jordan hopes to fulfill another dream by returning to his native Ethiopia and opening a medical clinic to honor his biological father.
