Photo Courtesy of Robert Littal BSO / Twitter
A Howard University student was surprised when Brooklyn Nets’ Kyrie Irving contributed more than enough to her GoFundMe campaign to help her stay a student at Howard University.
Destiny Thompson, a “sophomore Civil Engineering major,” minoring in mathematics, created the campaign on Dec. 9 with a $6,000 goal.
“Through hard work, we attain our dreams and goals in life, which is why I have been working tirelessly since I was 16,” the Howard student wrote in the campaign description box. “As a first-generation student from a family of ten, I have faced many challenges on my journey to higher education. As a first-generation college student, it is not uncommon for me to have self-doubt and lack financial and emotional support. Investing in myself is my primary reason for attending college.”
She added, “I am passionate about my education and will use my knowledge to educate my community and lead people like me to college. I can fulfill my education dreams as an undergraduate student at Howard University. Howard’s family atmosphere, traditional values, academic excellence, and opportunity to learn are something I cherish most about being a student here. A diversity of students with a shared commitment to education has never surrounded me.”
The number of donations exceeded her goal thanks to celebrity samaritan and basketball player Irving, who donated $22,000.
Thompson took to her Facebook to express her gratitude.
“Alright, I’m pretty calm,” she said in her video while wearing her Walmart employee vest. “I was really…super shakey. I cried…a lot of tears…I’m at work, y’all. I don’t understand. I can’t really wrap my head around how generous people can be. I’m so thankful for everybody that shared it, everybody that liked, commented, gave me encouraging words and just kind of helped me keep going, essentially. I’m just so happy and I’m so thankful. I never thought in a million years that anybody would give me anything. And I’m so, super grateful. I want to say thank you a thousand times for blessing me like this, Mr. Kyrie. I’m in shock still. I’m at work, I’m wiping down registers and deep cleaning for them.”
Thompson also shared another girl’s GoFundMe, who’s trying to finish flight school.