Janet R.’s foray into education has been on overdrive since arriving in Dallas from Mexico as an unaccompanied minor four years ago.

With no English and no education, she planned to work and earn money as a cleaner, then return to Mexico. But she quickly realized that plan was going nowhere.

“I didn’t know the basic stuff you need to know to have a decent job,” Janet said in the interview with the Hub, the Dallas Independent School District news site.

To catch up on those basic skills, Janet knew she needed to attend school, so she enrolled at Thomas Jefferson High School and then at North Dallas High School.

Janet’s education has blossomed far beyond “the basic stuff.” Graduating from North Dallas High School in May, Janet has opted to attend Stanford University – among the 41 institutions that offered her admission – on a full scholarship.

Her teachers praise her personal and academic growth, including exceptional academics and being named president of the student council. She also played on the school’s softball team.

Janet recalled how she started high school to learn basic skills but struggled with housing and food insecurity. Sometimes, she found overnight shelter on campus.

“While I was homeless, school became my safe place,” said Janet (whose last name has been kept confidential). “I saw in school and the classroom somewhere where I could be myself.”

Her teachers noticed. “Janet has grown so much in these few years, from being a quiet kid to whom school wasn’t a priority to being someone who is not afraid to take risks and branch out,” said Erika Vigil, now assistant principal at Thomas Jefferson High School in Dallas.

Vigil, with educator Paige Zumberge, offered Janet a place to stay and other essential material and emotional support when they realized she was on her own.

Janet plans to study political or computer science at Stanford to build on cybersecurity skills she learned at the Career Institute North.

She told the Hub she believes she can make a big impact studying “computer science to change the educational system to give more opportunities to students like me.”

Janet gave credit to her teachers and the overall support she has received from the Dallas school community.

“Before, I didn’t see school as a possibility, but now I know where my place is, and it is me choosing higher education,” she said, according to the website.