When police received a report over the weekend of a tent pitched outside of Gordon State College in Barnesville, Ga., they headed over and asked the occupant to come out with hands in sight, the Herald-Gazette reports.

Fred Barley, 19, emerged, and he had an amazing story to tell—and thanks to the cops’ compassionate reaction, his story became even more amazing, according to WSB-TV.

A homeless biology major who’d come to register for his second semester, Barley had pedaled a 20-inch bike six hours from Conyers in the scorching Georgia heat with just his tent, a few belongings, some water, and a box of cereal, setting up his tent until the dorms opened in August so he could job-hunt.

The officers were stunned and brought him to a motel and paid for two nights. “I could tell he was a good kid … who had been dealt a bad hand,” officer Dicky Carreker tells the Herald-Gazette.

Carreker’s wife posted Barley’s story on a community Facebook page, and that’s when things really started to change for the student.  Below is her original Facebook post:

Here's how this page came about, and our relationship with Fred - from my original Facebook post 7/11/2016:

I have no idea how these types of things still happen in 2016 but listen to this heart-rending encounter I had today. I was notified by a friend of a situation that was being posted on our community facebook page, here in Georgia. We have a nice little college called Gordon College, here, and they have dorms, etc. This past weekend, a 19 year old Gordon student was found sleeping in a tent, hidden in the bushes with only a box of cereal to eat. He rode a little boys 20" bicycle 6 hours in the heat of the day - with 2 duffel bags of all he owned and 2 gallons of water - from Conyers, to get to Gordon because he said he thought it would be the safest place for him to sleep in a tent, until he could get in the dorms on July 18th.

The campus police found him and told him to come out with his hands up and then realized there was something wrong; they asked him what the real story was and he told them. He was homeless and this would be his second semester at Gordon. The campus police found out this kid is wanting to be a biology major a was truly homeless and hungry. They took him to a local motel and several officers paid for him 2 nights there. He had nothing but 2 duffel bags, a little bike, a box of cereal and 2 gallon jugs to put water in.

I realized that his 2 days in the motel were up today and Cole and I decided to go find him. The motel called his room and asked him to come downstairs. I asked him if what I read was true - about riding his bike 6 hours, no food,sleeping in a tent, etc. He quietly said, "yes ma'am". I asked him what we could do to help him, as the owner of the motel listened in. He said, "ma'am" if someone could just help me find a job, I'll be ok." He told me he could move in the dorms on July 18th and the owner of the motel confirmed he was only paid-up through 11am this morning. The owner of the motel graciously gave him a discount for the motel until the 18th and I told him we would take care of that. His face lit up - I don't think I've ever seen someone so grateful and humble.

I handed him what cash I had on me and told him I was going to go to the local places to see if they were hiring and I would let him know. Cole and I hit the streets going to places to see if they had any jobs that would work with a school schedule. This kid said he would take any job, and he meant it. Well, he got a job washing dishes at a local pizza place and gets to start tomorrow! He was so thrilled. Truly thrilled.

I thought that helping find him a job, giving him some money and paying for his motel was going to be it for me. I just couldn't stop thinking about how lonely and rejected he must feel. How he must be questioning IF he was going to be able to finish college, eat, and make life work. Then I thought --- geez, this kid just rode a 20" little boys bike 6 hours in 100 degree weather....he's determined. But, I started feeling horrible that he was sitting alone in a motel room with no one....it was KILLING Cole and me. We went back and just sat and talked to him. Then we took him to get a few shorts and t-shirts for his new job and shared some laughs. We just dropped him off a bit ago, back at his motel room.

I got the most gut-wrenching text from him where he asked if he could spend time with our family - that he just felt a connection to us - he said he just needed to feel like he was connected to someone. I cried...and I cried. How could this happen to this kid?! I hated to tell him that we were leaving for Hawaii in a few weeks, for a long time. (Military assignment)

So, if you live in this area, and you have room in your heart for someone that needs family...please invite him to dinner a few times a month. Please take time to cheer him on and tell him he can do this. Please pray for him. Please share some life with him. If you want to help him with clothes, shoes, food gift-cards, anything on your heart. Please let me know and I'll get it to him. He's worth it. I promise.

source https://www.facebook.com/groups/successforfred/

Not only does Barley now have a place to stay—the motel owner and a local resident, Casey Blaney, have paid for his stay through Monday, when the college will allow him to move into the dorms early—but he also now has a job at a local pizza joint and has been showered with gifts from strangers, including a new bike, clothes, and school supplies.

Blaney also started a  Success for Fred Facebook page and GoFundMe page, which has already raised nearly $100,000. “More important than everything—the clothes, the shoes—the relationships mean so much more to me,” Barley tells WSB.