CC Grad Kay Atanda's Success Story: From Nigeria to the White House

I just finished writing a feature for the P.S. Blog about an amazing community college student, Kay Atanda, and his incredible journey. I wanted to share it with you here too. :)

“Just call me ‘Kay,’” he said.

“How do you say your real first name?” I asked.

“Olu-wa-da-misi.”

I say it a few times until I get it right. I can hear his infectious smile on the phone.

Kay grew up in Nigeria where he witnessed poverty first hand: “Kids roamed the streets, the rich got richer and the poor got poorer. There wasn’t a middle class,” Kay explains.

Kay felt lucky to be able to attend Redeemers International Secondary School in Nigeria. “We weren’t rich, but my mom always had the optimistic attitude that we could afford the important stuff. If we needed a textbook, she found a way to get it. My mom made us focus on school and she took care of the rest.”

Kay knew what a privilege that was. Daily he saw kids, some even younger than him, sell things on the streets to try to feed themselves and their families.

Kay understood at a young age that many of the problems were due to a poor governmental infrastructure, and he decided to do something about it....Read the rest of the story on the Pearson Students Blog.