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Homeless to Harvard. Thats what America Suppose to Be.
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2012 Jun 10, 12:21pm 1,367 views 1 comment
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Probably many in every high school got better grades than her. Harvard liked her story. Many other students worked just as hard or harder and are smarter but didn't get in.
And this is why we have to preserve the social safetynet. Too often hard work doesn't pay. Now that is a natural, if unhappy, part of capitalism. However, there needs to be a floor an American can't fall below for those who do fail, and yes, even for the jerks like this girl's parents who don't try. In the wealthiest nation in the world, homelessness like this should be unacceptable. This girl got very lucky, but we can't depend on luck when people's lives are at stake. How many other girls, just like her will remain homeless despite their attempts to get on their feet once they're old enough to earn a living? Do they deserve to go hungry or homeless because they couldn't get a college board's attention or a newspaper editor's approval?
In any society the majority of people wants benefits and handouts without working. Only a very small number of people strike out to achieve dispite hardships.
Take the story of Dawn Loggins. Born into drug-abusing parents, no fixed address, and growing up without electricity and water. Dawn would go without showering two to three months at a time and wear the same dress to school for weeks straight. Later abandoned by her drug-abusing parents, and homeless. She worked as janitor in her high school.
Dawn applied to four colleges within the state: the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; North Carolina State University; Davidson College; and Warren Wilson College. In December, she sent one final application off in the mail, to her reach-for-the-stars choice, Harvard.
On a sunny day earlier this year, she came inside after tending the garden. There was a letter from Harvard:
"Dear Ms. Loggins, I'm delighted to report that the admissions committee has asked me to inform you that you will be admitted to the Harvard College class of 2016. ... We send such an early positive indication only to outstanding applicants ..."
Now, that is America suppose to be.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/07/us/from-janitor-to-harvard/index.html