Part 2 of Spectrum News 1's series "Breaking the Cycle: Generational Poverty

ATHENS, Ohio—18-year-old high school graduate Asia Mckenzie, of Athens, has dreamed of flying planes and going to The Ohio State University. 

  • Thousands of school-aged kids in Ohio live in poverty
  • Determination and extra help along the way can help kids get a jump start on breaking the poverty cycle
  • Asia McKenzie is the first of 3 generations to emerge from poverty and go to college

But if you would have talked to her before her sophomore year in high school, she might have told you that big dreams like that were wishful thinking.  

"I grew up in subsidized housing. No one I knew went to college. My parents didn't finish high school. My siblings didn't go to college. My brother was a drug addict. My sisters were disabled," said Asia McKenzie.  "I would work all summer and money that I earned at the farmer's market, I would use that to buy school supplies and food."

She was nine and working three days a week then and says life was just hard.

"My parents, they did what they could."

But even that was difficult because her parents Amy and Jeff McKenzie suffer from debilitating illnesses that have hindered them from working.

While those were all discouraging situations she had no control over, the teen says something clicked one day.

“And then I realized that I needed to go to college in order to change my circumstances because I didn't want to live my entire life under poverty," said McKenzie.

And that one thought is what changed everything. 

She started to focus more, get good grades, and participate in extracurricular activities, so she could go to college. 

“My parents started motivating me because they realized that I really did want to go to college," said McKenzie. 

"I was so proud because she was doing so well and the background that she come from, she rose above and she was going on and doing things...and I was just shocked," said Amy McKenzie.

But just as things were starting to look up in her sophomore year of high school, her family got evicted from subsidized housing and she found herself homeless.

"There for a while I didn't know what we was goin to do. I couldn't do nothing for her," said Jeff McKenzie.

Mckenzie says becoming homeless crushed her dreams of going to college.

"Because I was more concerned about how am I gonna get a roof over my head, what am I gonna eat today, how am I gonna get a job, how am I gonna feed myself," said Asia McKenzie.

But someone was kind enough to take her in, giving her the chance to take classes at Ohio University while still in high school.

Although she was progressing along, there were still seeds of doubt about succeeding in the back of her mind.

"Just because of how much university was I kept thinking, I'm not gonna get enough, I'm not gonna get enough, and I didn't have any family contributions because my parents were homeless and they were trying to find places to live," said Asia McKenzie. "Then it did happen and all my work paid off and I got all the scholarships I needed."

McKenzie received scholarships like Beat the Odds from the Children's Defense Fund and the Eminence Scholarship from Ohio State University, which will now allow her to study aviation flight this fall.

Looking back, she says finding the motivation within was hard.

But keeping her family at the forefront is what helped her reach her dreams. 

"I think what motivated me was my family. I kept seeing how much they struggled and how much it hurt them that they couldn't provide for me," said Asia McKenzie.

Although her parents couldn't provide the tangible things, they look at her now and are proud. 

I hope Asia makes it through college and becomes what she wants," said Jeff McKenzie.

Now that her dreams are in view, McKenzie says she's looking forward to breaking the generational poverty cycle in her family as she pursues a career in aviation. 

"It really feels like a dream come true. I finally get to prove everyone wrong that said I couldn't do it. and I finally get to fly, which I love," said Asia McKenzie.