Most aspiring high school athletes grew up kicking soccer balls around or practicing their wrestling moves with their dads, but Michael Woulfe had a different kind of bonding with his parents, who were both diagnosed with cancer when he was a small child.

The 17-year-old from Oak Park, Illinois, has overcome adversity that would have beaten the spirit of many adults and has grown up to become not only a valedictorian of his high school, but also a varsity wrestler, and has now been accepted in the U.S. Naval Academy.