USD Magazine, Summer 2001

·- IN THEIR OWN WORDS

From the Mean Streets to a Life with Meaning School ofEducation senior Andre Bryant was selectedfrom more than 62, 000 applicants as a 2000 Gates Millennium Scholar, a $1 billion program funded by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda. Bryant, who maintains a 3.68 grade point average, was among the 4, 000 inaugural recipients. The awards are given to high– achieving minority students with severe financial need. Bryant's scholarship will pay for his master's and doctorate degrees. He told his story in March at a Gates Millennium Scholar leadership seminar in Los Angeles. H ow I came to be a Gares Millennium Scholar is like a Cinderella story, so I guess I'll start at the beginning. I am a native San Diegan born on Dec. 15, 1962. In my early years I was a happy child and did very well in school. My parents said if I got straight A's on my report card I could get anything I wanted. One year it was a puppy, the next $100, and in the third grade, a mini– bike. My grandmother was very proud of me. She always thought chat I was special - so much so chat she made me promise chat one day I would go to college and study to become a teacher. What I thought was ever-present bliss came to a screeching hale when I was molested by a "friend of the family." I kept chat painful secret from everybody I knew and became woefully shy. I began to feel self-hatred because I did nor feel chat I was beautiful like the rest of my family. I acted out all my frustrations in high school by being the class clown and never paying attention. I thought it made me cool to smarc-mouch the teachers and get in trouble. I finally sought escape through drugs and alcohol. I managed to graduate high school and landed a job at General Dynamics with che assistance of my father. I lasted there for 3 1/2 years and was terminated for drug-related reasons. A week after I lose my job I was introduced to crack cocaine and my life took a nosedive fast. Within six months I spent every penny I had. I ruined my credit, drained my savings and lost my home and new truck. Ac the ripe old age of 22, I was homeless on the streets of downtown San Diego, afflicted with a raging drug addiction and a heavy drinking problem. The shame and guile I felt was nonstop and overwhelming. Frankly, I often wished I was dead. My life was a spiral to nowhere for the next eight years until finally, with the help of God, I reached a bottom. While in the middle of yet another drunken stupor, a voice said to me, "Andre, it is over. Ir's time to give these drugs away and go home!" That is exactly what I did. I showed up on my parents' doorstep and, forcunacely, they fed me and took me in. I slept hard char night, and the next day we went to the hospital and I asked for help. The doctor suggested I go to a 12-scep program. I took his advice. I have not taken a drink or a drug since March 10, 1994. After a year of sobriety, I decided to go to college at the age of 32. I took a placement test and discovered char I had the equivalent "i ntelligence" of an eighth grader. Talk about humbling! My first three semesters at San Diego City College were filled entirely with

remedial course work. I eventually declared a major in education. It was not until a year lacer chat I realized I was fulfilling the promise I made to my grandmother. I graduated SDCC with honors and won an academic scholarship to the University of San Diego. I could not believe I went from being a crack addict in the streets to a student at a highly acclaimed private institution of higher education. The classes were tougher than anything I had faced before, but I just knew I had it in me to work that much harder and excel. I am now a senior at USD in my credential year in the School of Education. Last year, my adviser and counselor, Professor Steven Gelb, nomi– nated me for the Bill Gares Millennium Scholarship. And I won. Ac chat moment my life changed considerably. Noc only does the schol– arship pay for all my tuition and fees, it also covers my living expenses. The gift of the program is char Mr. and Mrs. Gates wilt continue to give me aid until I gee my doctorate in education. Now I can dream bigger and do more. Some day I would like to become a principal. I wane to reach because I love children and I feel char I have a very special connection with chem. Bm che thing char truly resonates within my soul is working with other alcoholics and helping them achieve sobriety. To be part of another person's enlightenment and awakening to "life on life's terms" is one of the most meaningful and soulful things I have ever experienced. I now have seven years of continuous sobriety. My edu– cation and my recovery are both gifts from God. I would like to thank my grandmother for the dream she instilled in me and special thanks to my mom and dad for standing by me even when times were bad. H aving lived my adult life with barely any education ocher than char which I learned on the mean streets, I now truly see how igno– rant I was. In hindsight I know chat I was a self-centered, manipula– tive and angry man. My education has allowed me to become hum– ble. I am truly a different man and I continue to be a work in progress. I am excited about what the future has in store for me. Other USD recipients ofthe scholarship are.fi'eshmen Diana Cornejo, Michelle Hashimoto and Maria Kammerzell; junior Gisela Salgado; and senior Stephanie Valdez.

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USD MAGAZINE