The only reason that I made it to where I’m at is because people helped me out of the kindness of their heart.
— Rehan Staton, a former sanitation worker from Bowie, Maryland, commenting on how he was able to gain acceptance to Harvard Law School. Staton used to spend his mornings hauling trash before going to class at the University of Maryland. Sometimes, he didn’t have time to shower between work and class. “I would have to sit on the side of class and try not to bother anybody with my scent that day,” he said. Staton was also accepted to law school at Columbia, Penn, USC-Gould, and Pepperdine, while he was waitlisted at Georgetown, NYU, Berkeley, and UCLA. He hopes to specialize in sports law and become an agent someday.
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.