More News

The easy road to success was not an option for Lawrence Caldwell II.

Before he was awarded a Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship in April, Caldwell, 19, had run away from an abusive home and dropped out of high school.

Although the odds for success were stacked against him, the Germantown resident regrouped and found mentors. By age 16, he had enrolled in a Montgomery College program to work on an associate's degree and high school diploma simultaneously. A judge awarded him custody last year of his 15-year-old brother.

Caldwell will receive an associate's degree from Montgomery College on May 21 and a high school diploma on June 3.

"Even though my family wasn't always supportive, I always had others in my corner," Caldwell said. "Getting the scholarship is like a dream come true for me. I had a lot of help from people outside my family."

Caldwell entered the Gateway to College Program at Montgomery College in spring 2007, said Yvonne Hu-Cotto, resource specialist for the program. The program helps 16- to 20-years-old at-risk youth who have dropped out of Montgomery County public high schools or high school students who are struggling to graduate.

"He is a phoenix risen from the ashes," Joan Naake wrote of Caldwell in a letter to the Cooke scholarship selection committee in January.

Naake, an English professor and director of the Renaissance Scholars Honors Program at the college, said Caldwell is just the type of student her program wants. The honors program is for high-achieving and highly motivated students.

Considering his challenges, Naake said, she is very proud of all Caldwell has accomplished in the classroom.

"His father was incarcerated all of his life and his stepfather was abusive," Naake said. "It's hard to think about where this kid could have ended up."

Caldwell, a Renaissance Scholar at Montgomery College, Germantown campus, with a 3.63 grade point average, is the fourth student from the college to receive the Cooke scholarship. Donald Washington and Carine Nadem won it in 2003 and Dede Adomayakpor in 2004, college spokesman Marcus Rosano said.

The scholarship pays up to $30,000 a year for room and board, books and tuition at a four-year college. It was awarded to 40 community college students nationwide this year, he said.

Caldwell dropped out of Seneca Valley High in Germantown in fall 2005, when he was a 15-year-old sophomore. He also left his mother's physically and emotionally abusive home that year. Caldwell said he could no longer live with the challenges in the house.

For the next year, he worked in fast food restaurants, earning money to rent an apartment and never forgetting a promise he made to himself.

"From the first day I left school, I knew I was going back," Caldwell said. "In high school, my home situation got really bad. I just thought I had to leave school and make money to support myself."

Three years earlier, Caldwell had met Joe Wilson, a therapist treating his little brother. Caldwell volunteered to go to therapy with his brother to talk about their life at home. Caldwell now considers Wilson his mentor and credits the private therapist with helping him through his darkest moments.

"The fact the he has stayed connected to me and made connections with others who are willing to help him is huge to me," said Wilson, clinical director for Maryland Choices, a statewide nonprofit care management program for families and children. "The bigger reward is he sees he can direct his own future."

Caldwell found his calling last year while fighting in court for custody of his 15-year-old brother. After his brother landed in a juvenile detention center, Caldwell spent more than three months in family court trying to convince the judge to award him custody instead of their mother. In November, the judge granted Caldwell custody and now the brothers live together in an apartment in Germantown.

American University in Washington, D.C., has accepted Caldwell, but he still is waiting to hear from George Washington University. Caldwell wants to earn an undergraduate degree in psychology then go to law school. His goal is to become a family court lawyer and help others in home situations similar to his.

"That whole experience going to court for my little brother impacted my decision," Caldwell said. "I just want to make things easier for the next kid like me."