Southwest High Teen ‘Beats the Odds’

Teachers and counselors at Southwest High School already know Alex Glaze is an amazing young man. The senior has been recognized with a $4,000 scholarship from the Children’s Defense Fund-Minnesota. But Alex isn’t just amazing because of his excellent academic record. He’s overcome nearly every personal hurdle imaginable to get to the top.

Alex is one of four students chosen from nearly 100 across the Twin Cities to receive the “Beat the Odds” scholarship from CDF-Minnesota. The scholarship recognizes teens who have overcome extreme adversity including family separation, addiction, poverty, illness, abuse and loss of family to succeed in life. Glaze lost his mother to a drug overdose three years ago. He and his twin sister were removed from their mother’s care at age 12 and sent to live with their father. On the twins’ eighteenth birthday, their father told them to leave and never return. They now live with a family friend.

“My dad wasn’t a typical father. He expected us to take care of ourselves,” Glaze said. “So when we were 15 my sister and I both got jobs and basically provided for ourselves."

Glaze has always looked at education as one way to improve life. 

"I transferred to Southwest High because I didn’t feel challenged enough, and people didn’t seem focused at my other school," he said. "I had a 4.0 GPA, so it was easy to switch. Plus Southwest was the only other school where I knew people, and I’d heard about its good academic reputation.”

Glaze said even though his mother was an alcoholic, he still looked up to her, and she did her best to love and care for him and his sister.

“She was still a good mom despite her addiction. She instilled a lot of determination in me,” Glaze said. “But I always knew I wanted to achieve what I have, so I think I’ve been pretty self-motivated too.”

Southwest High School counselor Mary Morseth nominated Alex for the Beat the Odds Scholarship. She said in her 30 years as an educator, Glaze is one of the most outstanding students she has ever known.

“I’ve often asked myself how Alex was able to function and perform so well in school with so much tragedy occurring in his life,” Morseth said. “I believe that any goal he sets for himself, he will achieve. He’s just that kind of kid. He’s a born leader with an exceptional blend of character, intelligence, resilience and drive.”

Southwest High School Career and College Center Coordinator Danielle Jastrow agrees that Alex is an exceptional student and person.

“Alex is a wonderful combination of intelligence, humor, humility, perseverance, compassion and maturity. His smile can light up a room, and his thoughtful concern for and appreciation of others are readily apparent," Jastrow said. "Working with Alex is a true pleasure because of the gifts he willingly shares. Understanding where he comes from and what he has overcome makes him all the more remarkable.”

Alex has been a member of the AVID program at Southwest High since his freshman year. AVID, or Advancement Via Individual Determination, is a program that supports students who are the first in their family to attend college, are economically disadvantaged or represent an ethnic group that is traditionally underrepresented at colleges. He served as student ambassador to the College and Career Center at Southwest during his sophomore and junior years, and was nominated to attend the National Youth Leadership Council twice, but was unable to attend for financial reasons.

“School comes pretty easy to me, but sometimes it can be challenging because I don’t have the time or the resources to do everything,” Glaze said. “I have found other ways to get things done, like getting my homework done at school so I don’t have to worry about it when I get home from work at 11 pm.”

Glaze has maintained a 3.5 GPA and scored a 30 on his ACT. He said he will use the $4,000 to prepare for college if he can secure additional scholarship money. He has also applied for a scholarship that would pay for school through the graduate level. Glaze has been accepted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Fordham University in New York. He is waiting to hear from Northwestern University and Stanford University, which is his first choice. He also has an interview scheduled at Harvard. Glaze said he’s not sure what he wants to study at the undergraduate level, but plans to attend law school afterward.

When he’s not studying and working, Alex enjoys listening to music, playing football and learning about new things. He also values his friendships.

“My friends keep me grounded,” Glaze said. “There’s a tight group of friends I hang out with and they’re all really different.”

So what does he say to young kids facing similar challenges?

“Stay focused," he said. "In the end the only person that controls what happens to you is you. If you want something, you can get it if you try.”