Liz Murray: Homeless to Harvard

Liz Murray is an inspiring woman who overcame tremendous odds in her life as a child. She turned her life story from homeless to Harvard.

Liz Murray, 29. She's from some of the meanest streets of New York to graduate from the Ivy League and has become an American international speaker.

Her experience inside their home gave her courage to fix her life and be successful in everything she does. When she was little, her parents spent their welfare payments to buy cocaine and heroin while she and her sister were starving to death: "We ate ice cubes because it felt like eating. We spit a tube of toothpaste between us for dinner." 

She remembers how her mother steals her birthday money, selling their televison, and even the Thanksgiving turkey that was given to them by the church.


She frequently talks about her parents. She said that her parents loved her and she loved them very much too! Her parents are highly intelligent, according to her.


At the age of 16, she became homeless. She has no place to stay. She was stealing food because of hunger, and she would shoplift self-help books that she likes to learn about. She studied for exams in a friend's hallway, she's literally out in the streets.

At first she saw herself as a rebel and a victim, but then she had an epiphany. "Like my mother used to say, 'I'll fix my life one day.' It became vivid when I saw her die without fulfilling her dreams that my time was now or maybe never," she says.

She was homeless and had not attended school regularly for years, but when she was 17, she pledged to become a "straight A" student and complete her high school education in just two years.

Liz went to night classes and did a year's work in advanced. Her teacher saw her fortitude and determination. And because of this, the teacher helped her and mentored her.

She graduated college in Harvard University as a scholar. A chutzpah award was given to her by Oprah Winfrey and she was very fortunate to meet Bill Clinton. She has talked at events with Tony Blair, Mikhail Gorbachev and the Dalai Lama. She talks about drugs and gangs to teenagers, and how to get away from those bad habits. She also urges and motivates the youth not to use childhood hardship and bad experiences as an excuse to not aim for success.

Her father died in 2006, because of Aids, similar reason why her mother passed away. His saving grace was that he encouraged Liz to read, even this would lead Liz to steal books from libraries to give her a love of literature. His encouragement was all worth it.

Despite the change of her appearance now and the Harvard degree that was stamped on her face, she remained humble and she would not forget and turn away from her horrific past, but will use that to keep her strength and perseverance. She quote: "I was one of those people on the streets you walk away from."