High School Dropout to Lawyer: A Library Success Story

By Carol S.

这是我父亲的故事：他是一个高中辍学。虽然他喜欢阅读，他不喜欢学校，所以他会经常沟类，并隐藏了在底特律公共图书馆，吞食书籍，直至逃学的官员发现了他，把他拖回到学校。最终，他为了彻底辍学打工。（这是在大萧条时期，和他的家人一定价值以上的就业教育。）

When he was in his mid-thirties—with a wife, four children, and a mortgage—a lawyer friend told my father that he “thought like a lawyer” and should consider a career change. My father sheepishly admitted to his friend that he didn’t have a college degree; in fact, after receiving his GED while in the Navy, he’d only taken a few college classes. His friend did some research and found that, at that time, law schools admitted a small percentage of “non-traditional students” based on factors such as related work experience. My father made inquiries but, lacking the related experience, was rejected. He persisted, however, and asked if the school would reconsider if he passed the entrance exam. They agreed, and when my “dropout dad” scored in the 99th percentile, he was admitted to law school. A boy whose guidance counselor told him that he’d be nothing more than a ditch digger if he dropped out of school eventually graduated from Detroit College of Law and worked as an attorney for almost thirty years.

所有这一切说，我的父亲一直记在底特律公共图书馆作为他真正的教育的来源。这是一个地方，一个相反的孩子谁用很少的钱退了学，从一个家庭，仍然可以更好的自己。他和我的母亲灌输的阅读和尊重他们的孩子的图书馆自己的爱心。我父亲的经验表明，图书馆是一个重要的垫脚石实现美国梦。