PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia teen Richard Jenkins says he used to sleep in a homeless shelter and was nicknamed “Harvard” by bullies for being a bookworm. Now, he is going to the same Ivy League school on a full scholarship.

Jenkins attends Girard College, a boarding school in north Philadelphia, and is this year’s valedictorian.

The 18-year-old says he found out the good news while in Paris on a school trip, and he was so excited that he threw his cellphone in the middle of a call.

Jenkins says he decided to apply to Harvard after receiving a promotional email in his junior year.

He plans on studying computer science in order to create a more intuitive virtual assistant.