Incredible Mom, Grateful Son!

By: Lourdes G. Mon

 

Some years ago, I read from various media prints and on the internet, the name Trey Potter, then an 18 year-old who lived in Ohio, about giving his mother a memory of a lifetime. His story has been covered by many publications including, News 5 Cleveland, TikTok, Fox News, People, the Boston 5 News, and Huffington Post.

As a youngster, Trey’s mother Melissa “MelRo” Roshan endured abuse and lived in 23 different foster care and group homes. At the age of sixteen, she gave birth to Trey as a result of her being raped. Though only 16 years old, MelRo was very mature for her age. Experiencing tremendous obstacles, she knew her priorities in life. Being in high school and a single mother with a baby, she sacrificed not attending school events, including her prom, to care of her son. During the time of her prom, she was living in a homeless shelter for teen parents while earning her GED and working; she missed out on the big night.

Interviewed by Us Weekly, MelRo said, “Seeing all my friends around me go to prom was incredibly difficult. Part of me really wanted to go, but I knew I had a baby that needed me. And that became my reason for finding peace in missing out.”

In 2016, Baby Trey is now an 18-year-old teenager and in high school, who obviously was raised well, and appreciates everything his mother did for him; a grateful son. The thought came to Trey when he was just 11 or 12 years old. He was determined to give his mother the memory of a lifetime. He told her then that he plans to take her to his prom as his date when the time comes. Melissa thought, “It was a sweet notion, but I didn’t believe he’d actually follow through.”

It’s prom time. It happened. Trey had mom MelRo in his arms, showing up at the dance. A proud son, he exclaimed on the Us Weekly interview, “My mom is one of the most inspirational people I know. After all she’s sacrificed and been through, I felt taking her was the least I could do.” Dressed in a Vera Wang outfit, the 36-year-old MelRo remarked, “I felt like an old grandma initially! But I enjoyed my time once I let myself just be a kid again. I decided to leave after an hour so that I would not hog up too much of the night. Then I went home and slept in happy peace. It was one of the greatest moments of my life.” Her son’s promise to her was fulfilled, an experience for a mother, that did not happen in her teenage years.

Today, the beauteous mom, Melissa Roshan is a model, an entrepreneur and internationally known advocate for foster children. Her life became a fairy tale story, from being a victim of abuse by her grandmother, and now a successful woman, making a difference in people’s lives. She told Huffington Post, “My purpose all along has been to be a fierce advocate and a champion for foster youth and be a voice for them. So, I have dedicated my life to advocacy work.”

MelRo continues, “There is always light at the end of the tunnel and sometimes the tunnel may be longer for others but there’s always a light to keep you traveling and that was my light: being able to go to prom, being able to see him (Trey) grow into this thriving individual and then even being able to triumph and overcome everything and be an advocate. That’s my light at the end of a very dark tunnel.”

I reached out to MelRo’s office inquiring about Trey, how and what he is doing nowadays, and her assistant Sam responded briefly, “Her son is flourishing and doing well.”

Trey Potter & Mom Melissa Roshan’s photo for the prom.