A Maryland man who used to haul trash and clean dumpsters to make ends meet is pursuing his dream of going to Harvard Law School.
Rehan Staton of Bowie says his mom left when he was 8 years old. His dad raised him and his brother, Reggie, as a single parent, working three jobs.
Money was tight, so Staton got a job as a sanitation worker alongside his brother.
“When you’re out in the street and you see a dumpster that looks really bad, I’m the guy who’s going to make it look very good,” he said.
When Staton got into college, his brother dropped out so he could go.
“The thing about my brother, he literally picked a profession where people looked down on him so that others could look up to me, and he knew that,” Staton said.
While attending the University of Maryland, Staton still went to work, hauling trash before class. Sometimes there wasn’t time for a shower.
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“I would have to sit on the side of class and try not to bother anybody with my scent that day,” Staton said.
He managed to get through it and gave the commencement speech at graduation.
“And as Terps, we are champions because we pick each other up,” he said in his speech.
Now he’s heading to Harvard Law.
“The only reason that I made it to where I’m at is because people helped me out of the kindness of their heart,” Staton said.
Staton said he also battled a stomach illness for months while applying to law school.
He plans to give back by offering others free LSAT tutoring.
