 |
Tyrone and family headed to Seton Hall graduation.
Photo:
Peter Foley for The Wall Street Journal
|
I just wanted to share the success story of one of my former students, Tyrone Wheeler, who just graduated from Stillman Business School at Seton Hall University with a 3.9 GPA. Tyrone was in my "Major African American Writers" course--he had a lot to contribute, especially when we focused on social justice issues as central to African American intellectual thought from the late 18th century to the present. Awesome man. What an accomplishment.The story, published in The Wall Street Journal a couple of days ago, is posted below. You may click on the link as well.
Tyrone
Wheeler left a life of crime and is now on his way to a life of achievement
By
Melanie Grayce West(Wall Street Journal)
May 18, 2015 8:41 p.m. ET
Tyrone Wheeler hit a low a decade
ago, serving time in prison for dealing drugs and aggravated assault. On Monday
he graduated from Seton Hall University’s Stillman School of Business, with a
near-perfect 3.9 grade-point average.
“It’s kind of surreal, this whole
thing,” the 41-year-old said during an interview on Sunday. “I know it’s true
and I’ve worked really hard to get where I’m at, but a lot of times when I do
think back to where I was, to where I am—it just seems unbelievable.”
Mr. Wheeler’s path from a life of crime
to a life full of promise started with a shift in thinking behind bars. Back in
2005 he was on his fourth incarceration and two years into the minimum 8 1/2
years of a 23-year prison sentence. His daughter wasn’t a part of his life. His
mother was growing older. His
 |
With Prof. Michael Reuter.
Photo: Peter Foley for The WSH
|
future, he said, was prison well into his 50s and
60s.
Mr. Wheeler decided that it was
“time to make some real changes,” he said.
He began reading self-help and
motivational books, and took courses in paralegal work, and heating and cooling
systems. He surrounded himself with positive people.
In the fall of 2011, out of prison
and living in a halfway house, Mr. Wheeler was on his way to class at Essex
County College when he had a moment of clarity. Littering was second nature to
him then, he said, a reflection of not caring about his rough New Jersey
surroundings or much of anything else.
But on his way to class that day he
decided not to drop the trash on the ground. “If I can stop littering,” he
recalled thinking, “I can change anything in myself.”
Mr. Wheeler’s competitive nature
kicked into gear. The self-described class clown became a student who sat in
the front row at Essex County College. With good grades came scholarships and
awards.
Upon receiving his associate degree,
Mr. Wheeler had three college offers. He chose Seton Hall for its low
student-to-teacher ratio and its friendly professors. He jumped into class
projects, volunteering and leading the school’s management society.
It was sometimes difficult to be the
oldest student, and often, the only African-American in class, he said. His
first semester, he would sometimes go the whole day without speaking to anyone.
He ate by himself. A few friendly
classmates would josh Mr. Wheeler about his studiousness, calling him a nerd.
It was a title he embraced.
Michael Reuter, a professor at the
school’s department of management, was an adviser to Mr. Wheeler. He described
his student as having “a relentless pursuit of being more than he ever dreamed
he could be.”
“I always get choked up,” said Mr.
Reuter. “I am so happy for the guy. This is just the first step. He will
accomplish great things in life because of his passion, because of his renewed
purpose.”
Through a professional connection,
Mr. Reuter helped his student to secure an interview at Wakefern Food Corp., a
Keasbey, N.J.-based retail cooperative that distributes for ShopRite grocery
stores. Mr. Wheeler begins his role there as a procurement analyst on Tuesday.
As a result, he is skipping the big
graduation dinner in favor of a family lunch.
“I’m fortunate enough to have a
job,” said Mr. Wheeler. “I want to get to bed early.”
I will be focusing mostly on the upcoming Democratic primary election in the days leading up to Tuesday, June 2. I want to make sure that folks really understand how crucial it is to come out and support the COLUMN C Candidates for City Council and Democratic City Committee. Our opponents have tried to paint us in a negative light, with trashy mailers filled with lies. You have to ask yourself, what does Jerry "I run this m&#@!" Green get out of portraying our city so negatively, especially when there is so much positive to say? Do the Jerry Green Team members think that potential residents, businesses, or developers will want to invest in Plainfield after reading his garbage? Do you think Jerry Green would send such filth to Clark, or Fanwood, or Scotch Plains? The answer is "NO"--Jerry Green disrespects Plainfield so much that it is only here that he would stoop to such filth. 
