So the first youth I want to spotlight is Derrius Quarles who some people refer to as the ex-foster child now $1 million scholar. I have to admit when I read about Derrius, it reminded me of myself in so many ways and I will explain why as I tell you about Derrius. Derrius Quarles cuts a sleek figure on the Morehouse College campus in Atlanta, Ga. The 19-year-old freshman favors tailored suits, reported the Chicago Tribune, and hands out business cards emblazoned with the words "Student/Entrepreneur/Leader." Well anyone who knows me knows that I always wore a shirt and tie in high school and even throughout college. In fact during my freshman year of college I created my first business cards which I changed several times before I graduated. Nonetheless this is not about me but this is about Derrius who reminds me so much of myself which is why he is the first youth I am featuring in my youth spotlight of the war on our youth.
But Derrius route to higher education has been a rocky one, said the Chicago paper. His father was stabbed to death when Quarles was four, while his mother struggled with drug addiction. He spent the rest of his childhood with relatives or in foster homes, the Tribune reported. At times he and his older brother would steal bread and snacks from nearby convenience stores. And by the time he turned 17, Quarles was living on his own.
Yet he was determined to pull himself up by his own bootstraps, the Tribune said. "I've had people tell me that I ain't never gonna be s---," he told the paper. "That's not a scratch, that cuts deep. After so many people put me down, I said, 'I'm gonna show you.'"
To that end, Quarles pushed himself to the limit when he enrolled in Chicago's Kenwood Academy High School. Not only was he earning straight A's by his junior year -- he also scoured the Web for information about scholarships which is exactly what I did when I was in junior in high school. In fact that is a method I encourage all youth to do who plan to go to college because there are several scholarships youth can apply to while they are even 9th graders if they go to Fastweb.com.
Still Derrius’s hard work and his efforts paid major dividends, said the Tribune. Quarles won more than $1 million in scholarship offers, a rare feat accomplished by only about a dozen students nationwide each year. Along with his full ride at Morehouse, Quarles won a Gates Millennium Scholarship worth $160,000 and two others worth $20,000 each.
As for his ambitions, Quarles is just getting started, reported the paper. He hopes to attend medical school, set up a tutoring program for low-income students in Chicago, get involved in public-health policy, and eventually become U.S. surgeon general. "I have no time to play around," he told the Tribune. He added: "I want to make a difference. I want to show people that I can be all those things people said I could never be."
Well I hope Derrius Quarles becomes a U.S. surgeon general and makes a difference in his hometown because I know I would love to work with this gentleman one day in the future. Derrius is not only a fellow Gates scholar with me but he shares a passion of mine which is using naysayers as motivation to achieve success and to help others in the process.
Derrius Quarles has truly turned his lemons in life into lemonade and that is why he is the first youth I want featuring in my youth spotlight as I continue to fight this war to save our youth. We need more youth like Derrius who instead turn their heartache and pain into success and motivation to achieve greatness which is what Quarles is doing as he maps out his future ahead.
So I am going to continue to pray, lobby and work with youth like Derrius in order to make sure they achieve their dreams and I encourage others to do the same.
SAVE OUR YOUTH!
Source:
Ex-Foster Child Now $1 Million Scholar
http://www.gnn.com/article/ex-foster-child-derrius-quarles-now/703891
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