DALLAS — Kymber'Lynn Jackson just won a new national wrestling title, and she says she is not letting homelessness stop her from all of this success.
She is the first female Dallas Independent School District student to win a state championship.
Jackson was all smiles sitting in the auditorium of North Dallas High School and belting out the lyrics to a Boyz II Men song
She calls herself "the singing high school rebel turned championship wrestler." Her spirits are high because the teenage athlete is having an amazing year.
"Oh I'm extremely excited," Jackson said. The sophomore just brought home a new wrestling title. She won first place in the Body Bar Women's National Championships.
"I'm kind of astonished, because it only took eight months for me to get from the old person who used to be in the hallways — attitude problems, always getting in trouble — to somebody who is really pushing herself for success," she said.
You see, Kymber'Lynn did not always think success in wrestling was an option. The teen calls her story one of triumph through personal challenges.
"It was like, 'Man, I want to give up... but if I give up, what else am I going to do?'"
The student let down her guard when we first met in March. She uncovered a secret many of her Lady Bulldogs teammates and high school peers never knew. Jackson revealed that her family was homeless.
She says things are looking up for her family now. "We're still homeless, but it's a place that, they gave us our own room. It's a better situation for us," she said.
The shining athlete's mom, Kimberly Braudus, said they found a new sense of hope through all of Kymber'Lynn's success.
"It has inspired us to keep going," she said. "She is an inspiration to us, because she keeps going... no matter what we are going through. She says, 'Mom, we're going to be OK. I promise you we are going to be OK.'"
Jackson is now training for international competition in July. She says if she's successful in her wrestling matches, she could earn points toward a chance at the Junior Olympics.
Right now, Kymber'Lynn Jackson says she is enjoying a dream she never imagined possible. And she offered this advice for anyone who might be facing their own uphill battle:
"Just try something that you've never tried before. Then you might grow into loving it, and you might just keep on doing it."
