Posted on 07/27/2009 2:47:25 AM PDT by ninonitti
Back in the concrete suburb of Los Angeles where he grew up, they call him “Harvard.’’ He is the pride of a neighborhood of children who grew up just as he did, bouncing from one crowded apartment to the next, sleeping on sofa cushions on the floor, wired to the constant threat of violence. Alan was not just a street-smart kid in a baseball cap but a gifted student who breezed through math problems and quoted Milton and Dante. He was a voracious reader, the high school salutatorian, and last month, he graduated from Harvard with a degree in the humanities. But now Alan has hit a dead end, because one night 19 years ago his mother led him across the Mexican border into California, making him an illegal immigrant. His only legal employment option as a college graduate now is to return to Mexico, where he has few contacts and fewer prospects. Alan is among a growing number of students who have climbed to the country’s highest academic echelons only to find themselves mired in the rancorous national debate over illegal immigration. “One of the biggest ironies was that I’m going to graduate from Harvard and not be able to do anything,’’ he said, sitting in one of Harvard’s leafy courtyards, fallen quiet for the summer, wearing an engraved class ring on his right hand. “Every class is like, you’re the leaders of tomorrow. They build you up . . . and you’re like, yeah, yeah, oh wait, they’re not talking about me.’’ He spoke to the Globe on the condition that his last name not be used. Elite private universities such as Harvard have long been a haven for illegal immigrant children, granting them generous scholarships because they are ineligible for federal financial aid and struggle to pay
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
Maybe Skip Gates could help him out with a ticket to old Mexico where he could fill out some forms in Spanish.
Oh sure, he'll sign his last name for hundreds of thousands of dollars for scholarships taking away a dream education from an American citizen but The Globe isn't worthy enough. Meanwhile the college bound top of the class middle class white kid here can't find any financial help.
Really?
Well, that was his big mistake. If he is such a genius, he could have gotten his degree in medicine, law, engineering, or business, and he just might have a chance at building a career. Of course, that assumes that the passing grades that he received were actually earned, not donated.
With a Visa..
Education doesn't have much to do with it. This guy freely admits the education is worthless compared to the value of the contacts you make.
You beat me to this point. If, as written, he was so good in math why did he get a degree in Humanities instead?
He may have had some kind of a chance with a real degree but one of those "degrees" gets you a job at Burger King.
For all out there, please do not get me wrong. I fully believe that every person in college should have classes in the Humanities, History (especially REAL History), English, and a myriad other Liberal Arts subjects so they can be smart enough to make important decisions and run their own lives with intelligence.
On the other hand, if you actually think you are going to get a job/profession that will support you and your family going all the way to a total Liberal Arts degree is not the way to go, unless you want to hang around a university for years until you get hired there.
I have noticed that especially those elite schools now inflate their grades so mommy and daddy, who usually foot the bills for those types of schools, will be happy and stay away and keep their mouths shut. Pay your fee, get your "B."
I would think that a “Harvard education” would have some cachet, even in Mexico. But it is entirely possible that Mexico is so classist and run by drug-dealers that even a “Harvard education” may be worthless. Perhaps a Harvard MBA in narco-trafficing would help.
He gets in Harvard without a valid SSN or none.What ajoke!
He gets in Harvard without a valid SSN or none. What a joke!
The current POTUS did.
So this moron was smart enough to go to Harvard but not smart enough to legally become a US Citizen and what we are supposed to feel sorry for him.
Sorry, not this week,I have plans....
Well, that was his big mistake. If he is such a genius, he could have gotten his degree in medicine, law, engineering, or business, and he just might have a chance at building a career. Of course, that assumes that the passing grades that he received were actually earned, not donated.
Indeed. Smart immigrants who go to elite colleges and universities obtain degrees that provide entry into the 'learned professions' -- obtaining skills that can serve them well anywhere in the world.
Kid waste 4 plus years of his life getting a useless college degree (Humanities) and what is pissed at us?
He could always run for President.
Your Post states my feelings. How come if he is so smart he hasnt figured out a way to become an American citizen.?
Ya see, it’s like, you know - cool like that, ya know...
ping
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