Over the Fence: From Rags to Riches
It is not easy to climb over a fence built of barriers to security and wealth.
Acrylic on Canvas/ 21” x 25” / gold frame / $499.

The following story is about a young man who was helped by a compassionate couple during his senior year in high school. I believe it is import to acknowledge how one individual is all it takes to impact the life of a child raised in traumatic circumstances. As I complete Over the Sticker Bush Fence, a book about homeless and runaway youth, I plan to share certain sections with you. Please give me your honest feedback as I proceed. I hope to inspire others to volunteer to support a child in need.

The Tale of Young Scholar

Jeff Gottfried, a former director of education at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), initiated and received National Science Foundation (NSF) funding to conduct an innovative Young Scholars program. High school students were selected from a national applicant pool of those interested in working alongside research scientists during their summer vacation. There was no difficulty in finding applicants with a 4.0-grade average who wanted to take advantage of this opportunity. Most of the teens came from caring middle and upper-class families who encourage their children to exceed. But Jeff was interested in looking beyond the obvious to discover children with talent but who, for reasons of poverty or family dysfunction, were not high achievers. He asked teachers to make suggestions of students who might fit into this category of unrecognized youth.

Sure enough, one of the local high school teachers mentioned a boy whose family had moved each of the past five years because of poverty. The young man’s father was a Vietnam vet who, if entering treatment today, would have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder-PTSD. His mother suffered a variety of mental and physical illnesses and was also incapacitated. He was a neglected child, and if the police had not picked him up while roaming on the beach he never would have started school. The family moved from house to house as they faced consecutive evictions. There were numerous instances when the boy spent his nights sleeping in the family’s car.

Teachers, recognizing the boy’s intelligence, encouraged him to apply for the summer research position at OMSI despite having poor grades. Though his appearance and manner of speaking appeared to be mismatched to his knowledge, they were able to see through the superficial to a spark of genius. His grades were low Bs, and his command of English was marginal. The youth’s dress was shabby, like that of a street kid, yet his application essay was compelling as he spoke of his life and challenges, so the OMSI program decided to take a risk on this young man. Jeff’s intuition was good. I named him “Young Scholar” and throughout the summer he became more energized and hopeful.

The research he participated in was an environmental study of water quality of rivers in eastern Oregon. On one of Jeff’s visits to the site, he noticed that Young Scholar was not there during the dinner hour. In inquiring about his whereabouts, he was told that the boy was so wrapped up in the research that he did not want to stop what he was doing until it became darker. Later that evening, Jeff overheard Young Scholar asking another youth if there was a possibility of living with the boy’s family the following school year since his parents were planning to move once again. Jeff immediately discussed the Young Scholar’s situation with his wife and decided to take the boy into their own home during the following academic year.

Jeff accompanied Young Scholar to his apartment, loaded his few belongings into his car, and brought him into an atmosphere with caring creative people who applauded learning. The following school year, Young Scholar never missed a day, receiving a 4.0-grade point average by year-end and winning a Bausch and Lomb Science Award upon graduation. This prestigious award was accompanied by a four-year full scholarship to Rochester University. It was quite an accomplishment and shows what can happen when a caring adult recognizes potential.

Young Scholar accepted the scholarship and went off to study science , working all the while cleaning dorms to augment his stipend. Young Scholar continued to return to Jeff’s house for vacations, and the family grew to accept and love him as a son. Upon graduation, he accepted a job as a teacher in private school in New Orleans and eventually returned to Oregon to obtain a master’s degree in environmental science, in sedimentology. With diploma in hand, he returned to New Orleans to enter a doctorate program at Tulane University.

Young Scholar lived through Katrina, almost losing his entire Ph.D. dissertation in the disaster. This man, who understood the difficulty of overcoming adversity, managed to rescue his thesis from floodwater when the campus was closed. Presenting and defending his thesis was extremely difficult because his thesis committee had scattered to various locations throughout the United States. Young Scholar had to undertake the arduous task of reassembling his dissertation committee before he could graduate.

Today he is a married man with two children and supports himself as a college professor. Because of astute teachers who recognized his brilliance, the inspiration gained by participating in museum sponsored research, and a dedicated museum professional willing to go the extra mile, this Young Scholar has become a contributing member of society.