Improbable Success    
    

 No one can promise that life will be fair. 

 But, if you keep your eyes on the prize, 

 everything will fall into place. 

- Rehan Staton

   Teachers gave him no support. He was "losing in everything." He had no social life, home life was "horrible," and he hated school.

   When he was 8, Rehan's mother abandoned the family and moved back to Sri Lanka. His dad lost his job and had to work three jobs to provide for his two sons. "There were times with no food and no electricity...common throughout my childhood," he says. "We didn't have health insurance." 

   As a high school senior with a low SAT score, Rehan applied to colleges. 
All rejected him. 

   He went to work at Bates Trucking & Trash Removal, hauling trash and cleaning dumpsters. It's the kind of work people look down upon. But Rehan's co-workers encouraged him to reapply.

   "The other sanitation workers were the only people in my life who uplifted me and told me I could be somebody," he said. With help, he successfully appealed his rejection from Bowie State University. 

   "I got a 4.0 GPA. I had a supportive community, and I became president of organizations," Rehan said. His older brother dropped out of college to work at the trash company and help support Rehan and their father.

   After two years, he transferred to the University of Maryland. His father had a stroke, and Rehan rejoined the trash company to help pay medical bills, while remaining in school. 

   In December 2018, he was chosen student commencement speaker. He joined a consulting firm and applied to law schools. This fall, he will attend Harvard, one of nine major law schools to accept or wait-list him.

   Rehan plans to specialize in sports law and become an agent.

Source: Washington Post