“Your past, although it’s important, doesn’t determine your future,” he said. "You can make mistakes and good things can still happen in your life." Darrion Cockrell  was raised as a young child by both his grandmother and a series of rotating foster parents after his father, a drug dealer, was murdered and his mother battled drug addiction. Nearly two years after graduating from college, Cockrell -- now married and the father of a 3-year-old son -- landed his first full-time teaching job at Crestwood Elementary. Darrion also  received a 2020 National Box Tops for Education Twilight Award, presented by Chance the Rapper, as recognition for the impact he's made on students.