Boy Who Once Sold Drugs Named Student of the Year

A kid who used to live on the streets of Mississippi has started a new chapter in his life.  D.J. Graffree has been named student of the year in Decatur. 

D.J. Graffree

NewsChannel 19's Amber Stuart reports:

D.J. Graffree drinks a milkshake. One of life's simple pleasures to most. For him, it's a real treat. You see, D.J. hasn't always had it easy.

"When I was in Mississippi, my mom had went to prison when I was seven," said Graffree. 

After that, relatives shuffled D.J. around from home to home.

"They was beating me and stuff, and so that's when I ran away," said Graffree. "I decided to run away one day."

The classroom he sits in today is nothing compared to the streets he ended up on outside of Jackson, Mississippi.

"It was rough, but I had to do what I had to do to survive," said Graffree.

D.J. ran into his mother again and her drug addiction.

"I started when I was nine," he said. "Well, my mom was addicted to drugs," said Graffree. "So that's when I had stole some one day to take it for myself to see how it is."

After that, D.J. started working the streets and selling drugs.  One day, Antonio Townsend and his wife, Patty Lewis, came to rescue their cousin.

"They rescued me and brought me up here [to Decatur]," said Graffree. 

The rest is history.  Well, except for the fact that D.J. was a little bit of a handful at first.

"I had to treat him like a grown man," said Townsend. 

Townsend and Lewis say they're proud the school recognizes D.J.'s improvement.  They witnessed the change firsthand.

"He deserves everything he's got," said Townsend. "To see him come where he's come from and all the stuff he's went through. Everything he gets he deserves. He deserves everything he gets."

When D.J. got to Decatur, he attended alternative school. About three months later, he moved up to Sommerville Road. Principal Dee Dee Jones says it's been awesome to watch him turn around in such a short period of time.

"Just watching him grow from being a defiant student to this caring student about his grades, about his attitude, has been amazing," said Jones. 

Now, D.J. is fielding phone calls from colleges.  Schools want to send him information to encourage him to come to their universities. He's just 11 right now, and says he's simply looking forward to middle school.

People have also been calling Sommerville Road to try to set up a college scholarship fund for D.J.

D.J. plans to be the water boy for the football team at Oak Park Middle School this summer.  Plus, he says he wants to win some more awards because he enjoys being a "superstar."