With my dad at a 2.1 gpa after 3 semester, and a letter telling him he would get kicked out of the school, he needed to make a drastic change. With most of his time spent playing ping pong and extremely poor study habits, it seemed only a miracle would turn his life around.
This miracle came in the form of an unforeseen form. His name was Calvin Roberts. My dads quick description of his was, "a pretty big and very funny guy". However, the odds were definitely against Calvin. He was an african american first generation college student living in a time before affirmative action was seriously implemented. It was also during the time where segregation was lawfully banned, however was still very prominent around the country. Calvin's preparation to college consisted of only a very poor inner-city high school in Philadelphia which was flu in disciplinary problems. He was a football star at his high school and could have played football in college, though opted not to so he could focus on his academics.
One day, by fate it seems, my greatly underachieving dad saw Calvin after dinner. They were both biology majors and had classes together so they were acquaintances. My dad asked him where he was going and Clavin showed him. My dad was led to a conference room with about 12 students sitting around it. "The room was so quiet, the only thing you heard was the turn of textbook page. My dad began going to this room everyday to study. He would study with Calvin for around 4 hours a day. This saved my dads college career.
Calvin struggle greatly in every class he took. This was due to the fact that he had no academic base which students usually build in their high school years. "Calvin was the hardest working man I had every met" said my dad. Every teacher knew Calvin by name. He went to every single study session each teacher held. Through his determination and hard work he was able to graduate form college. "Calvin was so happy during graduation. I remember specifically that he threw his mortar board cap in the air so high I wasn't sure it ever came down" my dad said as he reminisced.
A college graduate with a biology degree, Calvin Roberts eventually became an airplane pilot for a major airline company.
This miracle came in the form of an unforeseen form. His name was Calvin Roberts. My dads quick description of his was, "a pretty big and very funny guy". However, the odds were definitely against Calvin. He was an african american first generation college student living in a time before affirmative action was seriously implemented. It was also during the time where segregation was lawfully banned, however was still very prominent around the country. Calvin's preparation to college consisted of only a very poor inner-city high school in Philadelphia which was flu in disciplinary problems. He was a football star at his high school and could have played football in college, though opted not to so he could focus on his academics.
One day, by fate it seems, my greatly underachieving dad saw Calvin after dinner. They were both biology majors and had classes together so they were acquaintances. My dad asked him where he was going and Clavin showed him. My dad was led to a conference room with about 12 students sitting around it. "The room was so quiet, the only thing you heard was the turn of textbook page. My dad began going to this room everyday to study. He would study with Calvin for around 4 hours a day. This saved my dads college career.
Calvin struggle greatly in every class he took. This was due to the fact that he had no academic base which students usually build in their high school years. "Calvin was the hardest working man I had every met" said my dad. Every teacher knew Calvin by name. He went to every single study session each teacher held. Through his determination and hard work he was able to graduate form college. "Calvin was so happy during graduation. I remember specifically that he threw his mortar board cap in the air so high I wasn't sure it ever came down" my dad said as he reminisced.
A college graduate with a biology degree, Calvin Roberts eventually became an airplane pilot for a major airline company.