Harley Duncan

“God has a purpose for everything, and we all should be reminded of that. He has blessed me with so much, and I praise him for everything he has given me.”

Those are words that we’ve all probably heard many fortunate people say – heck, you may have even said them yourself.

But, when you think of someone being blessed with “so much”, tell me if you think of our next winner, Harley Duncan as filling that definition.

When Harley was just three years old, his mother left his father due to abuse and substance addiction. From there, his life involved moving from one place to another and when he was just six years old, he was the “man of the house” looking after his little brother while his mother found interests outside of the house.

When he was finally old enough, Harley decided it was time to start to their family together, the only way a 16 year old knows. He got a job. One that went until midnight on school nights and later on weekends. Yet, this amazing your man continued to excel, managing to get A’s and B’s while still being responsible for providing money for food, the water bill and gas in the cars.

Final tragedy came to visit Harley’s life in October 2011 when his mother went into a diabetic coma while driving on the interstate and was killed. A home we would define as “blessed” – maybe not, but for our Bootstraps winner, it was the home and life he knew.

So what is next for this scholar with a 3.12 GPA, star baseball player, full time worker, tutor of middle school students… two simple things. Getting closer to God and a master’s degree in medical biology.

“So much” – yes, God has given each each of us “so much” in being blessed to know Harley Duncan.