Formerly homeless teen headed to Stanford meets Gloria Gaynor, whose hit song helped her survive
Megan Faircloth said "I Will Survive" song helped her persevere.
— -- A formerly homeless North Carolina teen who's now headed to Stanford University got another surprise of a lifetime recently, when she met the woman behind "I Will Survive," the song she says helped her through some of her most difficult moments.
On Monday, Megan Faircloth, 17, and her family traveled to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. There, they were directed to the airport, where Faircloth soon found herself being serenaded by none other than the disco queen herself: Gloria Gaynor.
Gaynor said she'd learned of Faircloth's story on social media and was amazed at her strength of character.
Formerly homeless teen is accepted to Stanford University
Starting in November 2015, Faircloth bounced around from relatives' homes, hotels, a shelter and even her family's car with her two sisters and mother. At the same time, she was attending East Wake High School in Wendell, North Carolina.
She said there were times she did her homework in a car or in the park. There were also times they didn't have much food. On the front of her bookbag, Faircloth scrawled the lyrics of Gaynor's song.
"The first time I decided to write her song lyrics on my bookbag, we were on our way to go to a homeless shelter," she told ABC affiliate WTVD-TV in Raleigh.
Despite her troubled home life, the teen excelled in advanced-placement classes and participated in school clubs. By October 2016, the family had permanently moved in with a family member.
She recently graduated from East Wake High and was ranked first in her class with a 5.25 grade point average. Around the same time, she applied and was accepted to Stanford University.
When Gaynor heard Faircloth's story, she reached out to WTVD-TV and the affiliate orchestrated the surprise meeting.
"I thought this is the purpose of my song," Gaynor said. "And so I just wanted to reward her a little bit for using [the song] and using all of the gifts and talents and abilities that God has given her to make way for her goals in her life."
Gaynor also gave Faircloth a gift as well as a $2,000 check from her I Will Survive Foundation.
"It's amazing that she said I was an inspiration but I think that she is an inspiration to so many people," Faircloth said later. "My mom always says, 'You never know where your life is going to go, and like the twists and turns it's going to take, but even if something, even if you're in a bad situation, it's always blue skies ahead."
ABC affiliate WTVD-TV contributed to this story.
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