I live about an hour away from Elliot's hometown of Richmond, VA, and they've had several articles in the paper about him and several spots on the local news. He's been through SO much adversity, it's really amazing. Apart from the health issues, such as type 1 diabetes (which he wears a pump for 24/7), he was basically told by his high school principal that he should just quit school. I'm a high school English teacher, and this just KILLS me that an adult educator would tell a kid that. Elliot was a sophomore and ended up dropping out. He hung out at Foot Locker for awhile, and the manager took him under his wing and convinced him to go back and get his GED. He did, and that same Foot Locker manager ended up as one of Elliot's guests on American Idol several weeks ago.
I LOVE Elliot!!
Sarah