B******1
发帖数: 9094 | 1 美国女孩唐恩·洛金斯向记者展示哈佛大学的录取通知书。
当下也是美国高中生的毕业季。美国女孩唐恩·洛金斯刚刚拿到哈佛大学的录取通知书
。一次参加学术夏令营后，18岁的唐恩回到家中，发现母亲和继父抛弃了她，不见踪影
。从此，她只能靠帮学校打扫卫生养活自己，并且到处借宿。美国广播公司近日报道了
美国“励志女孩”唐恩的故事。她希望自己的故事能鼓励更多无家可归的孩子，并打算
创立一家基金会帮助他们。
“过去的事情看起来会让人尴尬。但是我爱自己的父母，我母亲还在我身边的时候，已
经尽力而为。继父也帮助很多。”
——唐恩·洛金斯
参加夏令营后发现被父母抛弃
度过一个充实的学术夏令营后，唐恩满怀欣喜地回到家中，但发现父母不见踪影，抛弃
了她。“从那以后，我就没法联系上他们。每次我打他们以前的号码，都显示这个号码
已经暂停使用。”她回忆道。
家对唐恩来说是个复杂的词。许多年来，她不得不跟随继父和母亲到处搬家，有时甚至
跟着贩毒的继父和失业的母亲住破旧的房子。“每次继父被捕后，我们都不得不重新找
住所，或者妈妈把本来是作房租的钱为继父付保释金。我们住的有些地方，很长时间会
没有电，没有水。”她说。
父母离开后，唐恩付不起房租，不得不搬出原来住的地方，从此无家可归。她只能东一
家西一家地借宿，栖身亲友家的沙发。她的牙刷、牙膏、肥皂、洗发水都装在一个袋子
里，因为洗澡极其不方便，要靠运气。
许多时候，她只能穿着已经好几天没换的衣服继续上学。“这些事情看起来会让人尴尬
。但是我爱自己的父母，我母亲还在我身边的时候，已经尽力而为。继父也帮助很多。
”唐恩说。唐恩在北卡罗莱纳州的克里夫兰县就读高中，靠打扫卫生勤工俭学。
每天早上六点起床打工学习
每天早晨六点，伯恩斯中学的许多同学还在睡梦中时，18岁的唐恩已经开始在学校忙碌
，清扫学校的卫生。她还是学校里的护工。“我要提前两个小时去学校，从事卫生清洁
工作。然后我才开始上课。放学后，我还要工作两个小时，然后才能回家。”回家后，
她才有时间做家庭作业。
“许多事情，唐恩都无法把控。”伯恩斯高中的一名顾问罗伯恩·普特曼称，“但是唐
恩明白一件事情：好好学习是她能够控制的。”
过去的生活中，唐恩不得不随着继父和母亲一起不停地换住所，换学校。“不停地换学
校后，唐恩的成绩落后了。老师告诉她可以学习网上课程”，罗伯恩说。这些网上课程
让勤奋的唐恩逐渐赶上其他同学，并且成绩还不错。
当高中生的唐恩开始申请大学时，一个朋友建议唐恩目标设得高一点。现在，她的努力
换来成绩，她展示自己的哈佛大学录取通知书时，上面写着“你已经被哈佛大学录取”
。唐恩希望学习生物专业，以后要做生物医学科研。
“能够被哈佛大学录取是自己努力的结果。之前，世界就像抛弃了我，但我还是能做这
么多事情。那就能想象以后我的世界一切正常了，我就能够做更多的事情。”
热爱参加各种课外活动
直到有一天，唐恩一个朋友的母亲、同时也是伯恩斯高中护工的谢丽尔·考尔顿接受了
她，同意照顾她的起居。唐恩开始有了固定的居所和照顾，生命开始灿烂。“住在谢丽
尔家让我稳定下来。我可以长期地在伯恩斯高中学习，不用换来换去。”唐恩说。
她爱好各种课外活动，是摄影俱乐部、攀岩俱乐部甚至西班牙语俱乐部的主席。唐恩说
，“我还参加了社区服务项目，帮助那些正在服役中的士兵，解除他们家人遇到的烦恼
。我热爱校外的活动，参加过美国国家荣誉生社团、西班牙语社团。只要有机会和时间
，我就会参加课外活动，乐此不疲。以后也会参加更多。”
当唐恩参加学校的毕业典礼时，她在人群中注目的那个人是谢丽尔。唐恩说，谢丽尔让
自己住进她家中是遇到的最幸福的事情。
谢丽尔则觉得唐恩没欠自己什么，“我觉得，如果知道唐恩的情况，许多人都会这么做
。”
唐恩的故事激励同龄人
唐恩的故事让许多人感动，特别是那些同龄的孩子。伯恩斯中学一名13岁的女孩给唐恩
写了封信，在信中，她说贫穷让她感到绝望，是无法摆脱的沉重，但唐恩的故事让她看
到希望。
唐恩也让茱丽安·阿萨德触动很深。她读三年级的儿子内森和唐恩曾经有次对话，唐恩
告诉内森自己要去读哈佛大学。她说：“我们一直跟孩子说要靠自己的努力，而不是依
赖别人的给予。而她的故事会鼓舞孩子们。”
唐恩的故事吸引了美国各地媒体的注意，她一夜间成了名人。其他学生有时候会在路上
拦住唐恩，跟她拥抱。“有些时候会让我觉得有些小尴尬，但是很值，我的故事能激励
更多人。”唐恩说。
许多好心人希望能为她提供资助，但是唐恩坚持自己挣学费。唐恩的学费将会这样组成
：部分助学金、当地的奖学金以及她打扫学校卫生的收入。“我依靠自己走到了现在。
过去经历的一切是我面对未来的力量来源。”她说。
每45个孩子中
就有1人无家可归
[美国无家可归儿童]
在唐恩所在的克里夫兰县，政府登记的无家可归儿童就有242名。美国研究机构发布的
报告显示，2011年全美有160万儿童无家可归，即每45个孩子中就有一人住在流浪者收
容所、废弃建筑、汽车或公园中。
这些无家可归儿童不仅遭受饥寒困扰，还在身体和心智发育以及读书学习等方面遇到各
种问题。 | l*******t
发帖数: 343 | 2 I do not believe any kind of fake stories like THESE.
She involved in 摄影俱乐部、攀岩俱乐部. Do you know how much money does she
spend on equipment for these hobbies?? It's thousands of dollars, if not
tens of thousands of dollars.
For a girl who does not have any income, no support from her parents, no
room to live in, CAN SHE AFFORD these expensive hobbies??
Students like to fake their stories in order to sneak into good schools. | c*******e
发帖数: 8624 | 3 妈的现在的人为了上哈佛什么故事都能编.
【在 B******1 的大作中提到】
: 美国女孩唐恩·洛金斯向记者展示哈佛大学的录取通知书。
: 当下也是美国高中生的毕业季。美国女孩唐恩·洛金斯刚刚拿到哈佛大学的录取通知书
: 。一次参加学术夏令营后，18岁的唐恩回到家中，发现母亲和继父抛弃了她，不见踪影
: 。从此，她只能靠帮学校打扫卫生养活自己，并且到处借宿。美国广播公司近日报道了
: 美国“励志女孩”唐恩的故事。她希望自己的故事能鼓励更多无家可归的孩子，并打算
: 创立一家基金会帮助他们。
: “过去的事情看起来会让人尴尬。但是我爱自己的父母，我母亲还在我身边的时候，已
: 经尽力而为。继父也帮助很多。”
: ——唐恩·洛金斯
: 参加夏令营后发现被父母抛弃
| k******b
发帖数: 4501 | 4 可以打工挣钱啊。暑假做waitress不就能挣回来
she
【在 l*******t 的大作中提到】
: I do not believe any kind of fake stories like THESE.
: She involved in 摄影俱乐部、攀岩俱乐部. Do you know how much money does she
: spend on equipment for these hobbies?? It's thousands of dollars, if not
: tens of thousands of dollars.
: For a girl who does not have any income, no support from her parents, no
: room to live in, CAN SHE AFFORD these expensive hobbies??
: Students like to fake their stories in order to sneak into good schools.
| B******1
发帖数: 9094 | | B******1
发帖数: 9094 | 6 I love this kid! Never say never. Keep your dream high. | r****z
发帖数: 12020 | 7 结合 Jobs 的经历，我发现抛弃孩子才是让孩子有出息的王道。
另外，Jobs 和 Bill Gates 告诉我们，要想成大牛，辍学最关键。
【在 B******1 的大作中提到】
: I love this kid! Never say never. Keep your dream high.
| l*******t
发帖数: 343 | 8 这些学生都是无耻的骗子。以后哈佛里面会充斥着大量的这种骗子学生：父母双亡，
父母吸毒，父母得绝症癌症，父母残疾，被父母抛弃，无家可归，流离失所，拒绝
黑帮，晚上睡公园的长椅，高中到处借宿，等等。看看这个女生的照片，养的又白
又胖，像是到处打工干活的人吗？？打工干活的吃不饱饭无家可归的学生有参加摄
影和攀岩俱乐部的吗？
【在 c*******e 的大作中提到】
: 妈的现在的人为了上哈佛什么故事都能编.
| B******1
发帖数: 9094 | 9 FilthyFly is around. Okay, then there must be something good in this post! | l*******t
发帖数: 343 | 10 学校里打工打扫卫生做几天janitor, 每个学生都干过。我还在美国学校里刷了一年
厕所呢。现在我 officially declare that I am homeless. please accept me,
harvard. | | | B******1
发帖数: 9094 | 11 The Kids Called Her Stupid: Part 1 of 4
They walked the aisles at Old Navy, Ross and outlet stores. Dawn paused over
clothes that appealed to her style. Gray, black, purple shorts, sundresses
and shirts. She kept her distance from anything yellow or pink.
The 17-year-old had never shopped like this before.
She was always looking for a bargain.
Shirts, shorts and flip-flops. She worried about the prices. Robyn Putnam,
her guidance counselor at Burns High School, caught on.
Putnam first knew Dawn through her transcripts. A straight-A student with a
laundry list of school transfers. Dawn’s parents didn’t take her shopping,
so Putnam did.
“Do you want it? Will you wear it?” Putnam asked.
“Yes. I’ll wear it.”
“Then put it in the cart,” Putnam said more than once.
Burns High faculty and staff pitched in with money here and there. Dawn had
new purple pillowcases, sheets, a mini-refrigerator and a desk lamp piled
onto the shopping cart. She wrote thank-you letters, including one to her
dentist, who had supplied the toothpaste and toothbrush.
Dawn was bound for N.C. Governor’s School at Meredith College in Raleigh.
She was to spend six weeks with some of the top rising seniors from all over
the state.
She wasn’t worried about being the new kid at Governor’s School. She knew
it wouldn’t be like middle school.
Those years were her worst.
Dawn owned two dresses in middle school. Most days, she wore the burgundy
striped one with a black flower stitched at the bottom. Her grandma didn’t
make her shower every day. Some days, she forgot to brush her hair.
Girls would tease the cute boys in class by saying that Dawn liked them.
“People thought it was funny when the guys were grossed out,” she said.
She dealt with the teasing by not talking.
The kids called her stupid.
Governor’s School would be different. She’d be around students who wanted
to excel, whether they were rich or oddballs.
They didn’t know about the Lincolnton home she lived in with her family.
There was no power or water. Or about the trips to the park with her brother
to fill empty jugs with water to take back home. They needed the water to
flush the toilet, wash and cook ramen noodles for dinner.
Dawn didn’t ask her mom for a ride to Raleigh. She couldn’t take the
argument it would cause. Dawn doesn’t get through one without crying.
She knew her mom and stepdad were heading to Tennessee for a visit the week
she was to leave for Raleigh.
“She said, ‘Bye, have fun,’” Dawn recalled.
Putnam told Dawn to call whenever she needed anything.
So she did.
Putnam packed a van with Dawn’s belongings and the two headed for Raleigh.
‘Not like middle school’
Friends came easy at Governor’s School. It wasn’t hard to start a
conversation after learning about astrophysics, dissecting cow parts and
watching translucent fish eggs hatch.
Dawn reunited with her friend Emily at Governor’s School. Emily still
teases Dawn about her asking, “Where do you hail from?” when they first
met in the eighth grade.
Typical Dawn choice of words. She’ll say “accosted.” She won’t talk
college sports. Not her thing. She dabbles in multiplayer games like
Dungeons and Dragons, The Lost Odyssey and Gears of War.
She carries a backpack with a red and white medicine symbol etched across
the front. It reminds her of a “medipack,” an icon for health, in the “
Left 4 Dead” video games.
“I’m a nerd,” she said, tugging at the sleeves on her “Talk Nerdy To Me
” shirt.
‘The number you are calling…’
Governor’s School let out for a four-day break in July. She had been at the
school for about a month. Dawn visited her boyfriend’s family in Conover
during the break. She met her boyfriend, Josh, when she was a student at
Bunker Hill High School in Claremont before she transferred to Burns High.
While on break, she got a call from her mother.
They met under the shade of a carport. Her mom and stepdad didn’t know she
had learned about forensic science, fingerprinting and astrology while at
school. They didn’t ask a lot of details, she said.
“It’s as if I never left. It was a regular conversation we’d have on the
couch,” she said.
They kissed her. They hugged her. They told her to have fun at school. They
said their I love you’s.
“Sorry we can’t stay long, but we have to go,” Dawn’s mom and stepdad
told her.
The conversation lasted about 30 minutes.
She gave her parents her phone number at the school. They never used it, she
said.
Dawn returned to Governor’s School. She debated with fellow students and
shared her ideas openly. She felt it was OK to be a nerd.
With a week left in the program, Dawn started with a call a day to her
parents. A few days later, she upped to five calls a day.
“The number you are calling has been temporarily disconnected,” the
recording told her.
Dawn called her grandma, an aunt and other family members. She asked if they
had heard from her parents.
No one had.
How would she get home?
Where was home?
Where was her family?
Coming in Monday's Star: Couch-hopping
Reach Star reporter Alicia Banks at 704-669-3338. | I*****e
发帖数: 7085 | 12 老祖宗说了：人至贱则无敌
【在 c*******e 的大作中提到】
: 妈的现在的人为了上哈佛什么故事都能编.
| l*******t
发帖数: 343 | 13 so what?
you constantly called me FilthyFly. so harvard must accept me?
over
sundresses
【在 B******1 的大作中提到】
: The Kids Called Her Stupid: Part 1 of 4
: They walked the aisles at Old Navy, Ross and outlet stores. Dawn paused over
: clothes that appealed to her style. Gray, black, purple shorts, sundresses
: and shirts. She kept her distance from anything yellow or pink.
: The 17-year-old had never shopped like this before.
: She was always looking for a bargain.
: Shirts, shorts and flip-flops. She worried about the prices. Robyn Putnam,
: her guidance counselor at Burns High School, caught on.
: Putnam first knew Dawn through her transcripts. A straight-A student with a
: laundry list of school transfers. Dawn’s parents didn’t take her shopping,
| I*****e
发帖数: 7085 | 14 你不会真的信这个蹩脚故事吧？
【在 B******1 的大作中提到】
: I love this kid! Never say never. Keep your dream high.
| B******1
发帖数: 9094 | 15 Couch Hopping: Part 2 of 4
Part 2 of 4: School officials help find Dawn a home.
At most of the homes, she slept on the couch. At one home, she took a
blanket on a carpeted floor.
Couch-hopping, she called it.
That’s how Dawn Loggins, 17, spent the rest of last summer break.
The rising Burns High School senior had spent most of her summer in Raleigh
at the prestigious N.C. Governor’s School among some of the top students
from across the state.
A week before the school let out, unanswered calls to her family gave way to
a realization: She was homeless.
She knew her mom and stepdad planned a short visit to Tennessee. After weeks
with no word from them, it looked they had decided to stay.
Their home was abandoned. Dawn’s older brother had moved out, staying with
friends in Hendersonville.
She was told her parents had dropped off their grandmother at the homeless
shelter in Shelby, she said.
With no ride home from Raleigh, she called her Burns High guidance counselor
, Robyn Putnam, for a ride.
Putnam dropped off Dawn at a friend’s house in the Hickory area.
She planned her next steps days at a time. Careful not to overstay her
welcome, after a few days at one friend’s house, she moved on to the next.
At one place, she shared a bathroom with eight people. She bathed at night
after everyone was asleep. She washed dishes and swept floors to show her
appreciation.
When Dawn talks about these weeks now, her voice doesn’t change. She’s not
emotional about it.
“I realized I was getting nowhere calling my parents. What was I going to
do? Cry about it? I had no choice but to stay with friends,” she said.
Dawn had been moving around with her family for years. Chased out of houses
and trailers with eviction notices tacked to the front doors.
She adapted.
And she had offers to stay on at one friend’s house in Catawba County.
But that wasn’t the answer.
She had been around there for middle school. Those were the years when she
was picked on, tormented for being poor, not bathing every day.
Dawn had to get back to Burns High before her senior year started. Burns was
high school number three for her. It was also her safe haven.
Searching for a home for Dawn
Burns was a place where Dawn had a job cleaning the school’s classrooms,
bathrooms, hallways and offices before and after school.
Dawn was allowed to stash her belongings in a closet near the cafeteria.
Dawn’s brother, Shane, had gone to Burns, too. Dawn’s advanced placement U
.S. history teacher, Larry Gardner, had taught Shane.
She hadn’t been able to take as many challenging classes as her classmates.
“Every time I moved to another school, I felt further behind. I was
disqualified from taking challenging classes because I missed too many days,
” she said. “Now at Burns, I could take AP and honors classes.”
Gardner and other Burns staff had looked out for Shane and now, Dawn. Shane
went to finish high school in Hickory.
They gave the siblings shampoo and soap and let them shower at the school.
Junie Barrett, Dawn’s custodial supervisor, washed the siblings’ clothes
in the washing machine custodians used to clean mops.
A few times in her junior year, while Dawn was living with her mom and
stepdad in Lincoln County, the school staff drove her home and picked her up
for school — 50 miles away.
Barrett and former Burns High Principal Gary Blake remember an afternoon
when Dawn asked them for candles.
They asked why.
She said she couldn’t complete her homework in the dark. Her home had no
running water or electricity.
Her question pained Blake not just as a principal, but as a father. Barrett
remembers the strain in Dawn’s voice when she asked for the candles.
Blake met with staff and counselors the same afternoon. They paid the family
’s power bill that month.
They set up a plan of action to help Shane and Dawn.
“We’re all some children have. We want to make sure students have a safe
haven,” Blake said. “If we don’t care, who will?”
While Dawn roamed across Hickory staying with friends, her guidance
counselor, Robyn Putnam, searched for a home for Dawn. She called a list of
friends and coworkers.
“Can Dawn stay with you?” she asked.
Putnam called Sheryl Kolton, a custodian and bus driver for Burns Middle and
Burns High. Kolton’s youngest daughter, Amber, was Dawn’s first friend at
Burns. Dawn had slept over at their house before.
Kolton knew Dawn as her daughter’s shy and quiet friend. The two had spent
most of the time in Amber’s room. She knew that Dawn needed a home and
wanted to finish high school.
“I don’t even remember how the conversation started. How many phone calls
do you get like that?” Kolton said.
She thought about her answer for two days. Eventually, Kolton said yes.
Taking care of one of their own — on their own
No one risked calling the Department of Social Services about Dawn, who was
17 at the time and had been homeless.
Those who cared about Dawn could have lost her to foster care if they
alerted the authorities to her situation. Putnam was afraid Dawn wouldn’t
be able to take classes she had lined up for her senior year at a different
school.
Putnam and Kolton made sure Dawn had everything she needed: Clothes, food,
shelter and Burns.
In situations like Dawn’s, Jane Shooter, assistant director for the county
DSS, said social workers would have attempted to locate her parents and
understand the situation. If they determined a child needed to be placed in
foster care, their first attempts would be to find a safe guardian or foster
family in the area. But that’s not always possible.
Members of the Burns community took care of one of their own on their own.
But was this the right thing to do?
“I can only say if you suspect a child is neglected or abused, by North
Carolina law, you’re mandated to report it,” Shooter said.
Children in foster care age out of DSS’s protection when they turn 18 years
old. Dawn turned 18 on Feb. 9.
“There’s nothing we can do now that she turned 18,” Shooter said.
The first time for rules
At Kolton’s home, Dawn had rules to follow: Keep good grades and behave.
She couldn’t smoke, drink or do drugs.
“It was odd. It was the first time I had an individual look at me and say,
‘This is what I expect of you,’” Dawn remembered.
Kolton’s home with black shutters sat below a grassy slope on New Bethel
Church Road outside Lawndale. Dawn carried in the packed suitcase and travel
-sized bags she tugged around Hickory.
Kolton said Dawn walked around the house with her head tucked down.
“It was like she was almost hiding,” she said.
It would take time for her to feel truly comfortable at Kolton’s.
Reach reporter Alicia Banks at 704-669-3338.
Coming Wednesday:
Would Dawn be able to make this her home?
Would she connect with her parents again?
This was her last year at Burns. What was next for her? | B******1
发帖数: 9094 | 16 Student custodian aims for Ivy League: Part 3 of 4
Part 3 of 4: Dawn plans for college
Dawn Loggins wrapped a purple and white scrunchie around her long blonde
hair and chugged a mug of apple juice. She didn’t have time to eat
breakfast before work.
She was up around 5 a.m. The Burns High senior didn’t fall asleep until 2 a
.m. She had been studying for an advanced placement U.S. history test.
She flung her backpack over her shoulder and rushed to school. Yellow buses
sat in the parking lot. It was dark outside.
Dawn slid on a pair of clear plastic gloves. She read over the list of
school offices, hallways and bathrooms to clean.
As many of her fellow classmates smashed the snooze button, Dawn pulled a
vacuum and trash bin down the empty hallways.
The 18-year-old Burns senior works mornings and afternoons as a school
custodian.
Dawn doesn’t bother to wear jewelry with her black shirt, pants and
sneakers. Earrings, bracelets and rings get in her way while on the job.
Dawn doesn’t listen to music while she works alone every school morning.
Instead, she recites her to-do list for the day in her head: Homework
assignments, activities in astronomy and photography clubs. She sighed at
the thought of advanced placement calculus as she swept a hallway rug.
She pushes thoughts of her parents out of her head. She prefers not to be
annoyed while working, she said.
She pinched a wad of gum off of a carpet and tossed it in the trash bin.
Because Dawn was wearing gloves, she didn’t mind picking up gum someone
else had chewed.
The gloves ripped. She returned to the cabinet for another pair.
She paused in the doorway of a boys’ bathroom, broom in hand.
“Is anyone in here?” she called out.
“I always have to say that even though I know no one’s inside this early,
” she explained.
It was 7 a.m.
She reached into a urinal and pulled out a damp, crumpled paper towel. Her
tone stiffened.
“This bothers me. It’s lazy,” she said, flinging the towel inside a trash
bin. “I hate walking into classrooms with soda bottles all over the floor.
That’s the only thing that bothers me about my job.”
Cars and trucks trickled into the student parking lot. Puttering buses
finished their routes. The hallways were still empty.
When she finishes work early, she’ll head early to her first-period class
with Larry Gardner, her AP history teacher. She’ll finish any homework and
study. Sometimes she’s first in class before him.
Dawn’s day started three hours before the first bell rang at 8 a.m.
Then, it was off to a day of AP and honors classes.
She will sneak into guidance counselor Robyn Putnam’s office for a quick
hello between classes. She never left without grabbing pieces of candy from
the dish on the file cabinet.
And do it all again after school
When the dismissal bell rings, Dawn doesn’t head home or to athletic
practice. She goes back to work, cleaning Burns high for another two hours.
Then, she goes home and works on her homework for hours. Sometimes, she
falls asleep on a textbook.
This is her routine every morning, every afternoon and night, five days a
week.
Just weeks before her senior year started, Dawn was homeless. She had spent
the majority of her summer at the prestigious N.C. Governor’s School in
Raleigh.
But when it was time to return home, she learned her mother and step-father
had moved to Tennessee. Her older brother was living in Hendersonville. Her
grandmother was staying at the homeless Shelter in Shelby.
She roamed the Hickory area, staying with friends and sleeping on couches.
Years before, eviction notices forced the family out of homes without power
and running water. Burns High faculty and staff let Dawn shower and washer
clothes at the school.
Putnam found Dawn a home with Sheryl Kolton, who works as a custodian at
Burns Middle and Burns High.
‘People have it worse than me’
The hardest time for Dawn was the first nine weeks of this school year. She
juggled AP and honors classes, clubs and adjusting to life at Kolton’s home.
She thought about college and her future. But she didn’t realize how soon
applications were due. It was already October.
Dawn didn’t know where to begin. But Carol Rose did.
Rose is a mother of three college students. She knew about researching and
applying to colleges. Rose, who heard about Dawn through school staff, was
touched by Dawn’s story — completing Governor’s School and maintaining
strong grades while homeless.
“I was afraid to meet her. I didn’t think I was worthy of helping her,”
Rose said. “I knew I was going to fall in love with her.”
Dawn worked after school with Rose. They met in conference rooms or wherever
Burns had an open space and a table. Dawn wrote essays and Rose critiqued
them.
Rose told Dawn that colleges would compete for her not just because of her
high marks, but the way she managed to keep them through years of poverty
and school transfers.
North Carolina State University, Davidson College and the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill were Dawn’s choices.
“Reach for the stars,” Rose told her. “Apply to Harvard University.”
Harvard University?
Burns was her fourth high school.
Dawn had nearly perfect grades. But what Harvard student didn’t?
She had a few honors and AP classes in her junior year. Missed school days
from constant evictions disqualified her from taking more advanced classes.
She wasn’t ranked in the top 5 percentile at Burns.
Would she be enough to turn Harvard’s head?
“People have it worse than me,” Dawn said.
Rose mentioned Harvard again. Dawn dismissed the idea, again.
Dawn submitted applications to UNC-Chapel Hill, Davidson College and N.C.
State.
Dawn took a break from the college crunch. She went to a family member’s
birthday party in Marion one weekend in October.
Dawn’s mother and stepdad were there. They hadn’t spoken to Dawn since the
first week in July.
“That’s when my mom told me she definitely moved to Tennessee,” Dawn said.
Dawn returned to Kolton’s home Lawndale.
Submit
“Where else do you want to apply?” Rose asked Dawn. The first semester of
her senior year was almost over.
Dawn knew Rose was taking the conversation back to Harvard.
Dawn wanted the college process to end.
Then, Dawn thought about her parents.
“I was angry with my parents for leaving me to take care of this myself.”
she said. “The thing that kills me is how they affected my education. Had
they not prevented me from taking AP classes, then I could go Harvard. I
wasn’t at a high enough caliber to get in.”
Dawn remembered the countless days her mother stayed cooped up inside a
bedroom.
No power. No water. Sometimes, no food in the house. Dawn and her older
brother took care of themselves.
“In her mind, she thinks she was a good mother,” Dawn said. “I still love
her. You can’t just stop loving someone.”
Despite the flashbacks, Rose’s question lingered.
Dawn finally gave in and applied to Harvard.
Dawn took Rose’s advice for the essay. She wrote about the turmoil she
endured battling poverty and hunger to preserve her education.
An education would shield Dawn from becoming what she feared most, what she
promised herself as a child she wouldn’t become.
“I didn’t want to end up like my parents, picking between buying food and
paying the rent,” she said. “No, I’ve come too far for that.”
Rose was with Dawn when she clicked “submit” on the online application to
Harvard University in December. They were using a laptop in the parking lot
of Jack in the Box.
Then, Dawn drank a milkshake.
No more applications to submit. Dawn could breathe easy.
Reach reporter Alicia Banks at 704-669-3338.
Coming tomorrow:
Was Rose right to think Dawn would get into Harvard University? | l*******t
发帖数: 343 | 17 哪个无家可归的学生去参加摄影和攀岩俱乐部的？照相机和攀岩的器材至少要几千上
万美元，同时她还要计算机处理照片， 各种软件photoshop，这又要上千美元。
she is very rich actually. when I am receiving full scholarships form US
schools, I can not afford these expensive hobbies.
【在 I*****e 的大作中提到】
: 你不会真的信这个蹩脚故事吧？
| B******1
发帖数: 9094 | 18 Homeless to Harvard: Part 4 of 4
Part 4 of 4: Dawn visits Harvard after receiving an acceptance letter
In March, the mail brought bulky envelopes filled with acceptance letters,
pamphlets and welcome folders from colleges.
North Carolina State University.
Warren Wilson College.
Davidson College.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
All said yes to Burns High senior Dawn Loggins.
She still hadn’t heard from Harvard University. She was feeling doubtful.
While some classmates had begun taking advanced placement and honors classes
years before, Dawn was constantly on the move, her family evicted from home
after home. She missed a lot of school days, making it impossible to take
some AP classes.
Last summer, she found herself homeless and spent weeks hopping from couch
to couch at friends’ homes in Catawba County. Eventually, she found a home
with Sheryl Kolton, a custodian and bus driver at Burns Middle and Burns
High.
Dawn found time to join the National Honors Society, National Spanish Honors
Society and the Beta Club and she’s president of the photo club.
Before and after classes, she works as a janitor, cleaning the high school
she attends. Despite her straight As and an SAT score of 2110, Dawn didn’t
think she was competitive enough for Harvard.
The letter
One night, after coming home from cleaning Burns High, there it was. A small
envelope on the kitchen table.
In the left hand corner: “Harvard.”
This wasn’t like the thick oversized envelopes from the other schools.
It didn’t look good.
Dawn opened the letter.
She gasped as she clutched the page.
“Dear Ms. Loggins,” the letter read. “I am delighted to report that the
Admissions Committee has asked me to inform you that you will be admitted to
the Harvard College class of 2016…We send such an early positive
indication only to outstanding applicants…”
Dawn was excited, but she didn’t jump up and down. She didn’t yell.
“I’ve learned over the years not to get my hopes up because I’ve been let
down so much,” she said. “It makes disappointment easier to handle.”
She’s been through years of broken promises.
She remembers her parents telling her they would live in a new home as a
family with Dawn’s older brother and her two half-sisters.
That never happened.
Her stepdad is facing a drug charge and is now being held in the Lincoln
County Detention Center.
Her mom is sharing a one-room motel with Dawn’s grandmother in the Hickory
area.
The girl who swept the school’s floors
The next day, Dawn walked down the hallway to U.S. history teacher Larry
Gardner’s class.
“Mr. Gardner, what do you think of this?” she asked, handing him the
letter.
He couldn’t read anything past the words Harvard University in the letter’
s heading.
He remembered the Saturday afternoon he sat down to write her recommendation
letter to Harvard. He had thrown away the first draft.
“God, give me the words to say,” he’d asked.
Gardner held back tears thinking about the girl who swept the school’s
floors. Harvard wanted her.
“It was good to see her smile,” he said. “There were times you couldn’t
get a smile out of her.”
Dawn shared the news with others who had helped her. Her principal, Dr.
Aaron Allen, her school counselor, Robyn Putnam, and Carol Rose, a mother
who helped her apply to colleges.
Dawn ended with a round of calls to her family.
Her older brother, who was living in Hendersonville, told her she never
should’ve doubted herself.
Her grandmother screamed through the phone.
Dawn’s mother told her she was proud.
That call felt bittersweet.
“What right does she have to look at me and say, ‘I’m proud of you?’ She
didn’t contribute or anything,” Dawn said. “But, I guess, at least she
said something.”
Dawn doesn’t know whether her stepdad knows she got in to Harvard.
Dawn doesn’t want an apology from her parents.
“I just want them to be there for my two sisters,” she said. “In their
minds, they did the best for us. I don’t hate them. They have to live with
the consequences of their actions.”
A trip to Harvard
On Thursday, Dawn boarded a plane for her first flight. It took her to
Boston.
Burns High faculty and staff had pitched in for the trip to Cambridge, Mass.
, to tour the prestigious university. Junie Barrett, her custodial
supervisor at the school, accompanied her.
Sporting her Burns Bulldogs T-shirt, Dawn explored the Harvard campus with a
map. She stayed in a freshman dorm through the weekend.
Back at Burns, on Tuesday afternoon, the girl who wouldn’t let herself show
excitement was giggling.
It was her same matter-of-fact voice, but interrupted by spurts of laughter.
She talked about staying out until 3 a.m. with her new friends —
prospective Harvard freshmen from other states.
They went to a late-night Harvard ice cream social. They got caught in the
rain. They shared an umbrella as they navigated the streets. Dawn’s
sneakers were soaked.
She marveled at the stately architecture of the Harvard buildings and the
stained-glass windows in the dining hall.
She learned she wouldn’t need a car. Nearby shops and restaurants are still
open at 2 a.m. and within walking distance from the campus.
There’s also the subway. She learned the hard way to hold on to the bars
when the subway started moving.
She slid into a passenger.
He laughed. Not the reaction she expected.
Dawn wasn’t afraid to ask people for directions on campus. Everyone was
helpful.
“They didn’t try to show their smarts with using big words or being super
geniuses,” Dawn said. “They were friendly.”
Dawn met with a Harvard financial aid adviser last weekend.
Harvard has offered Dawn financial aid that would cover tuition, room and
board, she said. That doesn’t include books and living expenses.
Harvard is also helping her find a job at the university, Dawn said.
‘This is where I see myself’
Dawn toured a Harvard science laboratory. She talked with undergraduate
students about their original projects — from studies of fruit flies to
research that combines economics and biology.
The Harvard students were making hypotheses.
Doing the research.
Developing the theories.
Making groundbreaking advancements.
She wants to study animal habitats. Harvard seems an ideal place.
Her eyes brightened when she talked about the campus laboratory she toured.
She could see herself in that building — working with fellow students to
produce groundbreaking research.
“This is where I see myself in four years,” she said. “This is where I
need to be.”
Reach reporter Alicia Banks at 704-669-3338. | l*******t
发帖数: 343 | 19 哪个无家可归的学生去参加摄影和攀岩俱乐部的？照相机和攀岩的器材至少要几千上万
美元，同时她还要计算机处理照片， 各种软件photoshop，这又要上千美元。
she is very rich actually. when I am receiving full scholarships form US
schools, I can not afford these expensive hobbies. | B******1
发帖数: 9094 | 20 Quote:
- - - - - - - - - - -
She wasn’t worried about being the new kid at Governor’s School. She knew
it wouldn’t be like middle school.
Those years were her worst.
Dawn owned two dresses in middle school. Most days, she wore the burgundy
striped one with a black flower stitched at the bottom. Her grandma didn’t
make her shower every day. Some days, she forgot to brush her hair.
Girls would tease the cute boys in class by saying that Dawn liked them.
“People thought it was funny when the guys were grossed out,” she said.
- - - - - - - - -
FilthyFly is doing the same here. | | | B******1
发帖数: 9094 | 21 Quote:
- - - - - - - - - - -
They didn’t know about the Lincolnton home she lived in with her family.
There was no power or water. Or about the trips to the park with her brother
to fill empty jugs with water to take back home. They needed the water to
flush the toilet, wash and cook ramen noodles for dinner.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
The above reminds me of those Chinese classmates I had back in my college
years. They case from poor families and they had no guidance from their
parents. But their determination carried them to chase their dreams. | B******1
发帖数: 9094 | 22 Quote:
- - - - - - - - -
She planned her next steps days at a time. Careful not to overstay her
welcome, after a few days at one friend’s house, she moved on to the next.
At one place, she shared a bathroom with eight people. She bathed at night
after everyone was asleep. She washed dishes and swept floors to show her
appreciation.
When Dawn talks about these weeks now, her voice doesn’t change. She’s not
emotional about it.
“I realized I was getting nowhere calling my parents. What was I going to
do? Cry about it? I had no choice but to stay with friends,” she said
- - - - - - - - -
What a sensible person! | B******1
发帖数: 9094 | 23 Quote:
- - - - - - - -
Gardner and other Burns staff had looked out for Shane and now, Dawn. Shane
went to finish high school in Hickory.
They gave the siblings shampoo and soap and let them shower at the school.
Junie Barrett, Dawn’s custodial supervisor, washed the siblings’ clothes
in the washing machine custodians used to clean mops.
- - - - - - - - -
When the going gets tough, the tough get going! | B******1
发帖数: 9094 | 24 Quote
- - - - - - - -
Barrett and former Burns High Principal Gary Blake remember an afternoon
when Dawn asked them for candles.
They asked why.
She said she couldn’t complete her homework in the dark. Her home had no
running water or electricity.
Her question pained Blake not just as a principal, but as a father. Barrett
remembers the strain in Dawn’s voice when she asked for the candles.
- - - - - - - - -
If I read the above lines in an application PS, I would have admitted the
applicant right away! Talking about adversity and perseverance! | B******1
发帖数: 9094 | 25 Quote:
- - - - - - - - -
The next day, Dawn walked down the hallway to U.S. history teacher Larry
Gardner’s class.
“Mr. Gardner, what do you think of this?” she asked, handing him the
letter.
He couldn’t read anything past the words Harvard University in the letter’
s heading.
He remembered the Saturday afternoon he sat down to write her recommendation
letter to Harvard. He had thrown away the first draft.
“God, give me the words to say,” he’d asked.
Gardner held back tears thinking about the girl who swept the school’s
floors. Harvard wanted her.
“It was good to see her smile,” he said. “There were times you couldn’t
get a smile out of her.”
Dawn shared the news with others who had helped her. Her principal, Dr.
Aaron Allen, her school counselor, Robyn Putnam, and Carol Rose, a mother
who helped her apply to colleges.
- - - - - - - - -
This is a girl who appreciate the help she got from others. Then again, who
would not help such a kind-hearted, hard-working, and determined young lady
! | l*******t
发帖数: 343 | 26 你是不是有精神病啊？为什么疯狂的为一个骗子打广告呢？
【在 B******1 的大作中提到】
: Quote:
: - - - - - - - - -
: The next day, Dawn walked down the hallway to U.S. history teacher Larry
: Gardner’s class.
: “Mr. Gardner, what do you think of this?” she asked, handing him the
: letter.
: He couldn’t read anything past the words Harvard University in the letter’
: s heading.
: He remembered the Saturday afternoon he sat down to write her recommendation
: letter to Harvard. He had thrown away the first draft.
| B******1
发帖数: 9094 | 27 Bravo! Leave the doubters saddened in their disbelief, and a FilthyFly in
its meaningless whining. Believe in yourself. You can do it, whether you are
white or black, home or homeless, boy or girls. You define who you are
and what you want to be. Try your best and hope that all the stars align for
you. | B******1
发帖数: 9094 | 28 Dawn Loggins is lucky to be surrounded by many, many good people. They did
not put her into fostered care system, which is a black hole for kids. They
provided her with room, food and shelter, and most importantly, a sense of
security. They also let her to earn her living by working hard. No every
one can survive under similar circumstances. Then again, not everyone would
have that group of NICE people around them. | l*******t
发帖数: 343 | 29 每个到美国求学的中国学生都比这个白人女生出色，她的经历算个屁啊？我登飞机到美
国的那天，口袋里才揣着100美元，还欠着几千美元的债务，这种情况不比她困难？？
did
They
of
would
【在 B******1 的大作中提到】
: Dawn Loggins is lucky to be surrounded by many, many good people. They did
: not put her into fostered care system, which is a black hole for kids. They
: provided her with room, food and shelter, and most importantly, a sense of
: security. They also let her to earn her living by working hard. No every
: one can survive under similar circumstances. Then again, not everyone would
: have that group of NICE people around them.
| s****i
发帖数: 2993 | 30
you certainly should have went to Harvard.
But it's harvard's loss, not yours. I'm sure now you are way more
successfully than those Harvard dropouts.
【在 l*******t 的大作中提到】
: 每个到美国求学的中国学生都比这个白人女生出色，她的经历算个屁啊？我登飞机到美
: 国的那天，口袋里才揣着100美元，还欠着几千美元的债务，这种情况不比她困难？？
:
: did
: They
: of
: would
| | | l*******t
发帖数: 343 | 31 i was never interested in harvard in the past. in fact, i am richer than
most of harvard graduates.
【在 s****i 的大作中提到】
:
: you certainly should have went to Harvard.
: But it's harvard's loss, not yours. I'm sure now you are way more
: successfully than those Harvard dropouts.
| B******1
发帖数: 9094 | 32 Hypocrite: a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs
or feelings.
Here is an example: FilthyFly claims he did not go to H university and he
now earns more than graduates from H. One would have thought others should
follow his/her example and NOT going to H university. However, FilthyFly
also opposes the admission policy of H university and claims that the policy
is biases against Chinese applicants and especially Chinese boys and most
especially brilliant Chinese boys. Therefore, one would think FilthyFly
wants More Chinese applicants go to H university, the one he himself so
despised. | s****i
发帖数: 2993 | 33
Of course ah. That's why Harvard didn't give you admission. Only losers go
there.
【在 l*******t 的大作中提到】
: i was never interested in harvard in the past. in fact, i am richer than
: most of harvard graduates.
| z****0
发帖数: 3942 | 34 你果然很幼稚啊！
are
for
【在 B******1 的大作中提到】
: Bravo! Leave the doubters saddened in their disbelief, and a FilthyFly in
: its meaningless whining. Believe in yourself. You can do it, whether you are
: white or black, home or homeless, boy or girls. You define who you are
: and what you want to be. Try your best and hope that all the stars align for
: you.
| l*******t
发帖数: 343 | 35 i did not apply for harvard because harvard is a piece of shit.
go
【在 s****i 的大作中提到】
:
: Of course ah. That's why Harvard didn't give you admission. Only losers go
: there.
| B******1
发帖数: 9094 | 36 should have GONE to . . .
【在 s****i 的大作中提到】
:
: Of course ah. That's why Harvard didn't give you admission. Only losers go
: there.
| B******1
发帖数: 9094 | 37 Tell that to Mr. President.
go
【在 s****i 的大作中提到】
:
: Of course ah. That's why Harvard didn't give you admission. Only losers go
: there.
| B******1
发帖数: 9094 | 38 And your supporting evidence are??
【在 z****0 的大作中提到】
: 你果然很幼稚啊！
:
: are
: for
| l*******t
发帖数: 343 | 39 the evidence is your filthy and lengthy postings.
lol
you are flying everywhere.
lol
【在 B******1 的大作中提到】
: And your supporting evidence are??
| z****0
发帖数: 3942 | 40 你自己的话呀。
在越来越多的美国人开始质疑美国梦的今天，你说的那套东西让我相信你生活在象牙塔
里。
你以为亚裔获得平等待遇后就躺下了，不奋斗了？Obama当上总统后，黑人就不继续民
权运动了吗？
【在 B******1 的大作中提到】
: And your supporting evidence are??
| | | s***l
发帖数: 1470 | 41 真不容易。好孩子一个！
【在 B******1 的大作中提到】
: And your supporting evidence are??
| B******1
发帖数: 9094 | 42 I assume that you are describing yourself.
【在 l*******t 的大作中提到】
: the evidence is your filthy and lengthy postings.
: lol
: you are flying everywhere.
: lol
| B******1
发帖数: 9094 | 43 Where?
【在 z****0 的大作中提到】
: 你自己的话呀。
: 在越来越多的美国人开始质疑美国梦的今天，你说的那套东西让我相信你生活在象牙塔
: 里。
: 你以为亚裔获得平等待遇后就躺下了，不奋斗了？Obama当上总统后，黑人就不继续民
: 权运动了吗？
| B******1
发帖数: 9094 | 44 是啊。这孩子真能吃苦。她和我一个好朋友有点类似的地方：都在上高中的时候打扫过
厕所。
【在 s***l 的大作中提到】
: 真不容易。好孩子一个！
| l*******t
发帖数: 343 | 45 扫厕所算个皮？我在大学扫过一年厕所。现在在嫂嫂你。
【在 B******1 的大作中提到】
: 是啊。这孩子真能吃苦。她和我一个好朋友有点类似的地方：都在上高中的时候打扫过
: 厕所。
| S**********l
发帖数: 3835 | 46 吵什么呢。这点儿事情也要吵。两个大男人跟两个女的吵架似的。
两位不会都是老邢吧？这帖子挖得不深，增加不了流量的！ | l*******t
发帖数: 343 | 47 your assumption is wrong because only you copy/paste such lengthy filthy
posts.
【在 B******1 的大作中提到】
: I assume that you are describing yourself.
| S**********l
发帖数: 3835 | 48 我高中也被分派过扫厕所，但是我不记得扫没扫了。
【在 B******1 的大作中提到】
: 是啊。这孩子真能吃苦。她和我一个好朋友有点类似的地方：都在上高中的时候打扫过
: 厕所。
| l*******t
发帖数: 343 | 49 反正是暑假，呵呵
【在 S**********l 的大作中提到】
: 吵什么呢。这点儿事情也要吵。两个大男人跟两个女的吵架似的。
: 两位不会都是老邢吧？这帖子挖得不深，增加不了流量的！
| B******1
发帖数: 9094 | 50 你一说我想起来了。每年有一星期劳动课。初二的时候我去露天男厕所＂掌过勺＂！肌
肉就是这样练出来的。我那同学是家里穷，每天摸黑爬起来去学校打扫卫生，挣钱糊口。
【在 S**********l 的大作中提到】
: 我高中也被分派过扫厕所，但是我不记得扫没扫了。
| | | s****i
发帖数: 2993 | 51 graduated yesterday
of course, this photo must be fake too. a real homeless person can't
graduate from high school. | B******1
发帖数: 9094 | 52 You did not understand the meaning of homeless . . . or the context
within which the word is used in the articles . . .
【在 s****i 的大作中提到】
: graduated yesterday
: of course, this photo must be fake too. a real homeless person can't
: graduate from high school.
| s****i
发帖数: 2993 | 53
【在 s****i 的大作中提到】
: graduated yesterday
: of course, this photo must be fake too. a real homeless person can't
: graduate from high school.
| B******1
发帖数: 9094 | 54 Definition of homeless:
An individual who lacks housing, including one whose primary residence
during the night is a supervised public or private facility that provides
temporary living accommodations; an individual who is a resident in
transitional housing; or an individual who has as a primary residence a
public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular
sleeping accommodation for human beings.
When Miss Loggins slept on couches at friends' house, she was homeless.
When Miss Loggins carried all her belongings in a few traveler's bags, she
was homeless. When Miss Loggins washed her clothes in a school washing
machine reserved for washing mops, she was homeless.
But she was never HOPELESS! | B******1
发帖数: 9094 | 55 People who lived in cars graduated from colleges all the time. They are
homeless as well. | D*****e
发帖数: 761 | 56 说得不错，话说得太满就很可疑了。
这孩子可怜是可怜，但按照我们中国人的辛苦程度，实在是小菜。
she
【在 l*******t 的大作中提到】
: I do not believe any kind of fake stories like THESE.
: She involved in 摄影俱乐部、攀岩俱乐部. Do you know how much money does she
: spend on equipment for these hobbies?? It's thousands of dollars, if not
: tens of thousands of dollars.
: For a girl who does not have any income, no support from her parents, no
: room to live in, CAN SHE AFFORD these expensive hobbies??
: Students like to fake their stories in order to sneak into good schools.
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