A Texas girl who was born in prison will attend Harvard in the fall after graduating third in her class: The ‘voracious reader’ lived with a single father while the mother was behind bars
- Sky Castner, 18, of Montgomery County, was born in the Galveston County Jail, as her mother was incarcerated at the time of her birth.
- Despite his rocky beginnings, Castner will graduate third in his class from Conroe High School and will attend Harvard in the fall to study law.
- The young teen credits her mentor Mona Hamby for her success. Castner and Hamby met when the graduate was in elementary school.
A girl from Texas, who was born in prison, will attend Harvard after graduating third in her class.
Sky Castner, 18, of Montgomery County, was born in the Galveston County Jail, as her mother was incarcerated at the time of her birth. Her father would pick her up from the county jail and raise her as a single parent.
“I was born in prison,” reads the first line of his Harvard application letter, which he worked with a Boston University professor to write.
“He helped me tell my story in the best way possible,” she told the Houston Chronicle.
Despite his rocky beginnings, Castner will graduate third in his class from Conroe High School, north of Houston, and will attend Harvard in the fall to study law.
Sky Castner, 18, of Montgomery County, was born in the Galveston County Jail, as her mother was incarcerated at the time of her birth. Her father would pick her up from the county jail and raise her as a single parent.
“I was born in prison,” reads the first line of his Harvard application letter.
Despite her rocky beginnings, Castner will graduate third in her class from Conroe High School, north of Houston.
The young teen credits her mentor Mona Hamby, who is unrelated to the school, for her success. Castner and Hamby met when the graduate was in grade school at Reaves Elementary School.
The young woman was a voracious reader and staff thought she would benefit from CISD’s Project Mentor program, where children in need of a little love are paired with an adult to help care for and guide them.
They gave me an article about her. Her hero was Rosa Parks, her favorite food was Dairy Queen tacos, and she loved to read. I thought this sounds like a bright girl,” Hamby told the Houston Chronicle. I still have that paper today.
‘She told me: ‘I’ve been in jail.’ I said, “No, that can’t be right,” the mentor continued. “I knew I can’t go to lunch with this girl once a week, she needed more.”
Castner appears multiple times on Hamby’s Facebook page and the mentor often gushed about the teen and how proud she was.
Hamby was there the first time Castner got glasses and needed a haircut, and even gave her a ride to the Harvard campus.
The girl was a voracious reader and staff thought she would benefit from CISD’s Project Mentor program, where children in need of a little love are paired with an adult to help care for and guide them.
The young teen credits her mentor Mona Hamby for her success. Castner and Hamby met when the graduate was in grade school at Reaves Elementary School.
“After that trip, I saw his love for the school intensify,” he told the Chronicle.
Others in the community helped her experience things like summer camp.
“It was a very different environment than the one I grew up in and that’s not a bad thing,” the 2023 grad told the Chronicle. “Everything Mona taught me was very valuable in the same way that everything I went through before Mona was very valuable.”
Castner worked hard to earn all A’s and enrolled in the Science and Health Professions Academy at Conroe High School to prepare to eventually go to the prestigious university.
Castner graduated from Conroe High School on Thursday.
