Ogden, Utah • Bret Alexander is the picture of success: He recently began his first year as a graduate student at Weber State University studying higher education leadership and leads the school as student body president.
He's also the school's first openly gay student elected to the position. But the ambitious, buoyant student traveled a difficult path to where he stands now, the Standard-Examiner reports.
Growing up, he struggled with depression and homelessness. Alexander's father moved out when he was 3, leaving his then 19-year-old mother to take care of him alone. His family was very transient; they lived in a motel, a trailer and a duplex.