Jelani Freeman had a tough life with six moves as a foster child, but his determination to succeed got a mention in the 2006 edition of Hillary Clinton’s book, It Takes a Village.

Now Freeman is graduating from Howard University Law School in what he describes as “a collective achievement,” the Washington Post reports. He had interned with Clinton’s Senate office and credits her encouragement for his decision to go to law school.

But he had help from many people, the story says. “For Freeman, what's made the difference has been a kind of makeshift family of those who have cared along the way,” the Post writes. “Some cooked him dinner. Some steered him toward opportunities. One couple paid for a year and a half of his law school tuition. Many gave him the kind of advice a parent might bestow.”

Freeman was often ignored by his first two foster families, but he thrived for nearly five years in a third foster family until his foster mother died of a heart attack. He also had help from a mentor he met through a community program in 11th grade who told him that men who try to make money through a life on the streets often end up dead.

“One person at a time, he has pieced together something akin to family,” the story says. Now Freeman is mentoring other foster kids and serves on the board of a foundation that focuses on foster-care adoptions.