Being a single mother at worst can be a hand-to-mouth existence, with any chance for upward mobility or getting out of poverty taking some superhuman strength. But the good news is, there's no shortage of inspirational moms out there who prove that it can be done.

Take the experience of Ieshia Champs from Houston, a person whose adolescence was more distinguishable by the number of foster homes she was paraded through as opposed to the amount of birthdays she was able to celebrate, if any. On Monday, the mother of five who likely believed that her future was already decided for her, took care of her own destiny by graduating from law school.

Champs, who was saddled with her first child at 19, claimed it was faith that helped on her academic journey, sparked by encouragement from a bishop's wife that her destiny lay in going back to school to realize her dream of becoming a lawyer.

“I’m literally in tears, because people think that God isn’t real, but he is!” said Champs. “If you just trust him wholeheartedly I promise you that he’ll bring you through this!”

It turned out Champs needed more than faith, as grit, determination, and perseverance also helped. She lost all her possessions in a house fire, found herself unemployed, grieved the death of the father of two of her children, and even talked herself out of suicide.

It also didn't help when she was forced to move back home with her mom. Raising her kids in a toxic environment and in a drug-infested neighborhood created a huge obstacle in garnering some semblance of stability, especially when she finally got into law school. While pregnant with her fifth child, Champs got married but was divorced a year later.

Where she got her strength was from that bishop's wife, Louise Holman. Husband Richard, who runs the Ministers For Christ Christian Center, also provided support that Champs said was instrumental in her graduating in the top 15 percent of her class.

At 33, Champs already has an associate’s degree in paralegal studies from Houston Community College, as well as a bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston. Once she finishes studies in May at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University, she'll have a full-fledged law degree.

Champs wants to specialize in juvenile and family law after graduating with aspirations of even becoming a judge.

“I want to be the one to fight for those children who are in these horrible living arrangements," she said. "To try to help them reconcile with the family, or if not, give them the same opportunity that I had.”