nonprofit called iMentor provided a mentor who helped him stay focused in high school and apply to college. Nominated by iMentor, Mendez was invited to the opening of Reach Higher, Michelle Obama’s initiative to inspire students to go to college. The summer after he flunked out, he was a Reach Higher “ambassador.” He was embarrassed to tell the truth. . . . this is not a story of how I overcame everything to reach success. This is just me telling the truth. This is me finally letting go of all the pain and weight I hold in my heart of not wanting to disappoint anybody. Mendez is now a full-time student at LaGuardia Community College while working almost 40 hours per week at a coffee shop. Mendez has plenty of grit. What he lacked was preparation for college-level academics. – See more at: http://www.joannejacobs.com/2016/06/beating-the-odds-model-was-college-dropout/#sthash.zFBWzHIr.dpuf
Related: Madison’s long term, disastrous reading results.