Robin is a guidance counselor and CFES liaison at Ronald E. McNair High School in Stockton, CA.

I grew up in New York City and only knew one thing, poverty.

Robin is a guidance counselor and CFES liaison at Ronald E. McNair High School in Stockton, CA.

I grew up in New York City and only knew one thing, poverty. I grew up with a single parent who did not go to college. I made one decision at an early age and that was to go to college and get away from all reminders of not amounting to anything. I had moved from New York to Florida and finished my last year and a half of high school in Fort Lauderdale.

During my senior year of high school I sent out three college applications and decided to go to the first one that accepted me. Once accepted, I packed a suitcase and my mother began the drive to Pennsylvania. Our car broke down and she sent me alone on a bus to Pittsburgh at the age of 17.

With $50 in my pocket, I had to beg a taxi cab driver to take me to Beaver Falls, PA which cost $80. After seven attempts of pleading with multiple cab drivers, one of them finally had pity on me and drove me. Once I settled into a dorm, the President of the college called me in and asked, “How are you going to pay for college?”

My response tells my life story, “I don’t know. You accepted me so I thought it was your job to figure it out.” Agility, goal setting, grit, networking, and teamwork were essential skills that helped me achieve my dream of graduating from college. I did not know I displayed those skills at the time but the President definitely had not seen anyone who was very determined to arrive in a taxi cab and remain at the college. His belief in me enabled me to succeed. My fear of NOT going to college overrode any voices that told me I couldn’t! Perseverance was my constant companion during those years.

Today, I have the privilege of sharing with high school students to start where they are and to go where they dream! Leadership was born out of my fortitude!

Have the Essential Skills helped you succeed? Share your story with us HERE and set an example for our scholars as they become college and career ready.