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@michelleobama : Today I’m headed to @Howard1867 for our 5th annual #BeatingTheOdds Summit, where I’ll be reunited with some of the students I’ve met over the years. One of these is a resilient young woman named Rachel McKenzie Scott—and her story, like so many of those we’ll be celebrating today—couldn’t be more inspiring. For much of her life, Rachel felt like the world was working against her. She lost her mother when she was 12 and not long after, her father left their family. She and her siblings became wards of the state of Washington and her two younger siblings entered foster care. She’d go to bed at night wondering where her next meal would come from, and she’d wake up in the morning worried that she wouldn’t have clean clothes for school. Every day, she worried about her family’s safety, and she often thought about dropping out and giving up. But Rachel bet on herself. She asked for help and leaned on her mentor, Melissa Repp, to get through high school and college. At the University of Washington, she found professors she could open up to, friends she could relate to, and a trusty support dog, Blu, who was always there when she needed her. Today, she’s a graduate from the University of Washington, about to fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming an oceanographer. But that’s only part of the story—I’ll let Rachel tell you the rest. Check out my Instagram Story today as she takes it over and gives you a behind-the-scenes-look at today’s Summit.