【博主：这个报道的意义不仅仅限于一个年轻人的励志故事。更重要的是这个故事揭示了一个美国保持创造力的原因之一：那就是保持社会成员从“草根”到“领导层”通道的畅通。看看最近几届美国总统的家庭出身，可以知道克林顿总统、奥巴马总统就是出生于草根家庭，但他们通过自己的努力，当然在过程中得到很多人的帮助，他们做到了美国政府领导层的最高职务。

    在现代社会，贫困家庭“可能的唯一翻身机会”是通过教育，因此，教育公平是极其重要的。

    前文是今年一个美国“无家可归”少年的哈佛梦。而这篇文章是说的一个美国“无家可归”少女的哈佛梦。这是CNN的一个长篇报道，报道美国今年18岁的高中毕业生 道恩•罗根斯作为一个“无家可归”的学生被哈佛大学录取的经历。

在原报道中，有许多是罗根斯如何得到大家帮助的。其实可以想象，没有多年来大家的帮助，这孩子是不能进到哈佛大学的。就是在哈佛大学的录取中，也可以推测哈佛大学一定考虑了她的家庭情况，而不是简单地比成绩。

可以合理推测，这样优秀的学生，经过哈佛大学的培养，将来她（他）是会对社会做出贡献的。我们祝福她（他）们！

若说“无家可归”，倒也不是真正是一个“流浪者”。毕竟这两个孩子都可以正常上学的。在美国，在公立学校上学，是既不要交学费，也不要交书费或其他杂费，是真正的免费上学。而且，对于贫困家庭的孩子午餐也是免费的，甚至有些地区，担心贫困家庭的孩子在家吃，营养不够，还会让孩子带食品回家。或者在暑假里，专门在一些公立学校开伙，给贫困家庭的孩子吃饭。

中文的翻译摘要报道大体上可用，只是有少许是中文记者自己“猜想”的。我在文章中已经注明。懂英文的读者请看后面的原文报道，那里有更多、更全面的信息。】

“草根”到“领导层”的通道 – 美国大学

从无家可归到在哈佛上学(2)

作者：旺旺  原文Vivian Kuo, CNN

中文来源：城市晚报发布时间：2012-6-119:54:58

据6月10日美国媒体报道，美国北卡罗莱纳州罗恩达尔市18岁女生道恩·罗根斯从小和染有毒瘾的继父及生母四处流浪，一年前她又遭到父母弃养，从此无家可归。令人钦佩的是，身处逆境的罗根斯并没有因此自暴自弃，而是靠在学校担任清洁工完成了学业。不久前，罗根斯甚至以优异的成绩被哈佛大学录取，并收到哈佛录取通知书！

罗根斯的故事曝光后，令不少人为之感动。对于人生 经历种种考验，罗根斯坦然表示：“没有任何借口能让你自暴自弃，一切全都取决于你，而不是别人。”

从小随父母四处流浪

一年前遭弃养无家可归

据报道，现年18岁 的女孩道恩·罗根斯是美国北卡罗莱纳州罗恩达尔市伯恩高中一名高中毕业生。据悉，罗根斯出生于一个贫穷的家庭，她和哥哥肖恩从小就跟随染有毒瘾的继父以及生母四处流浪，一家人住在没有水电的房子里，只能在公厕洗澡，点蜡烛念书。有一天，罗根斯向学校老师询问有没有蜡烛，才被人发现她困苦的生活。

更 不幸的是，一年前，罗根斯的父母突然撇下一双儿女离奇失踪，令罗根斯和哥哥一夜之间沦为没爹没娘的孤儿。过去一年来，罗根斯的父母就如同人间蒸发一般，再也没有任何消息。由于遭到父母弃养，罗根斯和哥哥无家可归，兄妹俩每天晚上只能借住朋友家中，凑合着睡在沙发上。令人钦佩的是，身处逆境的罗根斯并没有因 此而自暴自弃，而是下定决心要继续完成学业！

靠当清洁工完成学业

成绩优异门门拿A

尽管罗根斯和哥哥都渴望继续上学念书，但由于家中没有了任何经济来源，罗根斯上学的学费成了大难题【博主：这里的中文报道有误，在美国公立高中上学不用交任何学费，也不要叫书费或其他任何费用。像他们这种情况，午餐也会免费提供，早餐、晚餐也应该不会有问题。而这兄妹俩给学校里工作来“赚”一些“零花钱”，这样可以付一些日常必需的花费，如理发、衣服。这兄妹俩这样做真是很好，学校的安排也真是很周 到。这也为现在妹妹被哈佛录取打下伏笔。】庆幸的是，当学校得知罗根斯和哥哥的不幸遭遇之后，决定伸出援手，让兄妹俩可以通过半工半读的方式，一边打工赚取学费，一边继续上学。就这样，罗根斯成了学校里的一名看门人和清洁工，负责看守学校大门，并打扫校园的卫生。

每天早上6点天刚蒙蒙亮，罗根斯就必须匆匆赶往学校，换上校工的制服，拿起扫帚、推着垃圾车打扫教室和走廊。在辛勤工作2小时后，当早上8点上课铃声响起时，罗根斯又必须赶紧换上校服，拿着课本和其他同学一样走进教室。尽管十分辛苦，但罗根斯的学习成绩一直十分优异，每一门都能顺利地拿到“A”，而她在班上的成绩也一直保持在前10名之内。

被哈佛大学录取

全校师生为她高兴

去年，罗根斯开始申请北卡罗莱纳州4所 大学，全都顺利获得入学许可通知。随后，历史老师抱着试试看的心情，决定帮罗根斯申请全球最著名的高等学府、常春藤名校——哈佛大学。令罗根斯欣喜若狂的是，不久前，她如愿以偿地以优异的成绩被哈佛大学录取，并收到哈佛录取通知书！不但如此，哈佛大学还将向罗根斯提供学费、食宿补助，并且安排她到校内工 作。

与 此同时，罗根斯的哥哥肖恩也十分争气，他得到了肯塔基州伯利亚学院的入学许可和奖学金赞助。伯恩高中的一名顾问罗拜恩·普特纳姆说：“学校里的所有老师和同学都为罗根斯能被哈佛大学录取而感到由衷地高兴。是的，罗根斯出生于一个不幸的家庭，有太多的事情是她所无法掌控的，但罗根斯知道，有一件事是她能够控 制的——那就是好好读书。”

坎坷经历鼓舞世人

不怨恨抛弃她的父母

18岁高中女生罗根斯当清洁工考上哈佛的坎坷经历曝光后，引起了许多美国媒体的关注。6月7日，当罗根斯参加伯恩高中的毕业典礼时，就连美国有线新闻网（CNN）也派出记者，到学校对她进行采访。据悉，许多美国民众都被罗根斯的经历所感动，甚至还有人捐钱给她。不过罗根斯表示，她打算靠自己努力继续完成学业，甚至准备拿出捐款，再帮助那些和她有相同遭遇的青少年。

据统计显示，目前美国有160万名被父母遗弃、无家可归的孩子。而罗根斯自强不息的精神，无疑会令这些孩子深受鼓舞。对于人生经历种种考验，罗根斯坦然表示：“虽然父母将我遗弃，但我并不怨恨父母，因为这些经历让我学到了宝贵的一课——没有任何借口能让你自暴自弃，一切全都取决于你，而不是别人。只要你肯尝试，就能完成你想要的梦想。”

From scrubbing floors to Ivy League: Homeless student to go to dream college

By Vivian Kuo,CNN

updated Fri June 8, 2012

Lawndale, NorthCarolina (CNN) -- It's before sunrise, and the janitor at BurnsHigh School has already been down the length of a hallway, cleaningand sweeping classrooms before the day begins.

This particularjanitor is painstakingly methodical, even as she administers amental quiz on an upcoming test. Her name is Dawn Loggins, astraight-A senior at the very school she cleans.

On this day, she maneuvers a long-handled push broom between rows ofdesks. She stops to pick up a hardened, chewed piece of gum. "Thisannoys me, because there's a trash can right here," shesays.

The worst, she says, is snuff cans in urinals. "It's just rude andpointless."

With her long,straight dark blonde hair and black-rimmed glasses, Dawn looks abit like Avril Lavigne. But her life is a far cry from that of aprivileged pop star.

She was homeless at the start of the school year, abandoned by herdrug-abusing parents. The teachers and others in town pitched in --donating clothes and providing medical and dental care. She got thejanitorial job through a school workforce assistanceprogram.

She's grateful forthe work. But it's where she's going next, beyond the walls ofBurns, that excites her most. She applied to four colleges withinNorth Carolina and one dream university. She'll graduate soonbefore heading off, leaving her dust panbehind.

For now, there's still work to be done. She stops for a quick bite toeat in the custodial closet amid Pine-Sol and Clorox. She thendarts to classes -- three advanced placement courses and an honorsclass.

Growing up without electricity

Dawn grew up in aramshackle home with no electricity and no running water. She oftenwent days, even weeks without showering. She and her brother Shane-- who was equally studious in his schoolwork -- would walk 20minutes to a public park to fetch water.

"We would get water jugs and fill them up at the park, using thespigots in the bathroom. And we would use that to flush the toiletor cook with. Stuff like that," she says.

She confided in a staff member at school. She had trouble doinghomework at nighttime because her home had no electricity and shecouldn't afford candles. It was difficult to read in thedark.

"OK, we'll get yousome candles. We'll take care of that," said Junie Barrett, Dawn'ssupervisor.

Another time, Barrettsays, Dawn and her brother asked if they could use the school'swashing machine to clean their clothes. "I said, 'Just leave themwith me. We'll get them washed, dried,' " Barrettrecalls.

"We let them use our shower facilities in the locker rooms because theyhad no running water. They had nothing to bathe in."

Burns High was theirfourth high school since middle school, as they moved from town totown. Living the life of a rolling stone, the two had missedseveral months' worth of classwork when they first arrived twoyears ago, putting them well behind other students'progress.

Shane was outgoing,but Dawn always appeared more reserved.

Guidance counselorRobyn Putnam saw the potential in Dawn and Shane early on andenrolled them in online classes to get them caught up. The workpaid off.

Abandoned byparents

Last summer, Dawn wasinvited to attend a prestigious six-week residential summerprogram, the Governor's School of North Carolina, at MeredithCollege in Raleigh, 200 miles east of Lawndale, to study naturalscience. It was a field Dawn had never studiedbefore.

The program is reserved for the state's top students.

Putnam ferried Dawnto Raleigh to attend the elite program and took her shopping,making sure she had the clothes she needed. Other faculty memberscontributed funds, too.

Putnam worried Dawn'shome situation could worsen while she was away. "We weren't evensure where her parents were at that time. And there was an evictionnotice on the house," she says. "We kept telling her to geteverything she could; we knew this was apossibility."

Dawn saw her parentsfor 30 minutes during the middle of the summer program during ashort break. They talked about her school and how she was doing.Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. "It was just a regularconversation," she says.

Shewouldn't hear from them again for weeks.

Asshe prepared to leave the summer program, she kept calling herparents' phone, only to learn it had been disconnected. Putnampicked her up and brought her back to Lawndale.

"When I returned, mygrandmother had been dropped off at a local homeless shelter, mybrother had just left, and my parents had just gone," she says. "Ifound out later they had moved to Tennessee."

Hervoice is steady, matter of fact. "I never expected my parents tojust, like, leave."

Dawn was abandoned.

"I'm not mad at myparents. My mom and my stepdad both think that they did what wasbest for me," she says.

DawnLoggins maintained an A-average despite herhardships.

Infact, she used her parents' example to drive her. "I just realizethat they have their own problems that they need to work through,"she says. "They do love me; I know they love me. They just don'tshow it in a way that most people would see asnormal."

Stability in Lawndale

Fora while, Dawn lived on the odd couch at friends' homes, while shefigured out what to do. Sometimes, she slept on the floor. The onlything that was clear was that she wanted to stay in Lawndale, whereshe was active in extracurricular activities, had a boyfriend andhad a job.

Her classmates there didn't make fun of her, though she had beenmercilessly mocked in middle school. "It was the worst. That's whenI would come home crying because the teasing was so bad," Dawnrecalled.

Helping Dawn

For those wanting tohelp, Dawn appreciates the generosity. She wants to use funds toform a nonprofit organization to help other homeless children. Anycontributions can be sent to: Burns High School/Dawn Loggins Fund,307 East Stagecoach Trail, Lawndale, NC 28090

Shehad lived with her grandmother until she was 12 and attended juniorhigh at a school about an hour away from Lawndale during thattime.

"Mygrandma loved me, and she taught me a lot. She had lots of craftsaround and watched History Channel with us. But ..."

Dawn's voice halts,then begins again a few seconds later. "She never really explainedto me and my brother the importance of bathing regularly. And ourhouse was really disgusting. We had cockroaches everywhere. And wehad trash piled literally 2 feet high. We'd have to step over it toget anywhere in the house."

Dawn would go withoutshowering two to three months at a time and wear the same dress toschool for weeks straight. "When I was little, it seemed normal tome. I didn't realize that other families weren't living the sameway that I was. And because of that I got teased, the kids wouldcall me dirty."

In Lawndale, a town of about 600 in the Appalachian foothills ofwestern North Carolina, things were different. Dawn feltcomfortable.

With her parentsgone, she processed the options with her guidancecounselor.

She could move yet again to Tennessee to be with her mother, or shecould be turned over to the Department of Social Services. Putnamfeared what that might bring. "If Dawn were to go into the system,she could be uprooted again and moved around," shesays.

Dawn would turn 18during the second semester, Putnam knew, making her an adult bylaw. So Putnam asked Dawn: "What do you want to do? She said, 'Iwant to graduate from Burns. To be in the same school two years.'"

Sothe community and Burns staff became her family.

Sheryl Kolton, acustodian and bus driver for Burns Middle School, had met Dawnbefore and knew her but not well. She wasn't expecting the phonecall she received. "The counselor at the high school just called meone day and asked me if Dawn could come live here," Koltonsays.

A few days later, she and her husband, Norm, agreed.

Shooting for the stars

With a roof over herhead and the contributions of Burns staff to supplement theKoltons' income needed to house and feed a growing teenager, Dawnwas seemingly in a stable environment. She admits that having herparents out of the picture helped.

"Honestly it was kindof a relief," she says. "I mean, I have a place to stay, and I havea job, and I'm going to school."

As she began her senior year, Dawn turned her laser-beam focus to herfuture: college. She knew she wanted a different path than herparents.

"When I was younger,I was able to look at all the bad choices -- at the neglect, andthe drug abuse, and everything that was happening -- and make adecision for myself that I was not going to end up like my parents,living from paycheck to paycheck."

A straight-A student, Dawn was president of the photography club. Shealso had started a community service program collecting thousandsof letters for active military troops and was involved in NationalHonor Society and band club. Before she took her custodian job, sheran cross country.

Shewasn't top of her class, and she didn't have a perfect GPA, but shewas smart. On paper, she had always fared well.

"I was looking at her transcript, and one of the lowest grades on hertranscript is a 94 and that was for a class called Success 101, andthe irony of that is just really amazing," Putnam says with alaugh.

Dawn Loggins says the worst thing about cleaning is snuff cans inurinals.

Dawn applied to fourcolleges within the state: the University of North Carolina atChapel Hill; North Carolina State University; Davidson College; andWarren Wilson College. In December, she sent one final applicationoff in the mail, to her reach-for-the-stars choice,Harvard.

No one from Burns High had been accepted to the elite Ivy Leagueschool.

"Ithought about it and just figured, 'Why not?' "

She asked her history teacher, Larry Gardner, for a recommendationletter. "I don't know how many times I started that letter ofrecommendation," he recalls. "Because how do you articulate herstory into two pages? How do you explain this is a young lady whodeserves a chance but hasn't had the opportunities?"

But after a prayer for wisdom, the words flowed.

"Once again, wordsfail me as I attempt to write this letter of recommendation,"Gardner began. "I can promise I've never written one like thisbefore and will probably not write one like this again. Becausemost students who face challenges that are not even remotely asdifficult as Dawn's give up. This young lady has, unlike most ofus, known hunger. She's known abuse and neglect, she's knownhomelessness and filth. Yet she's risen above it all to become suchan outstanding young lady."

Months passed. Shewas accepted to the four schools in North Carolina. Each time, theacceptance letter came as part of a thick package with fatbrochures and congratulatory notes.

Days went by. Nothingfrom Harvard.

But on a sunny day earlier this year, she came inside after tending thegarden. There was a letter from Harvard, the type of letter everyhigh school senior dreads from a university -- a regular-sizedenvelope, the ominous sign of rejection.

Cautiously, sheopened it: "Dear Ms. Loggins, I'm delighted to report that theadmissions committee has asked me to inform you that you will beadmitted to the Harvard College class of 2016. ... We send such anearly positive indication only to outstanding applicants..."

She gasped when she read those words.

Gardnerhadthe same reaction when she handed him the note at school the nextday. "I just looked up at her, and kind of teared up because thisis a young lady who ... " he stops, his voicebreaking.

"When I first met herand had her brother in class, they were living in a home withoutelectricity, without running water, they were showering at a localpark in a restroom after most of the people at the park had left.This is a young lady who's been through so much and for her toreceive this letter -- pretty awesome."

Not only was Dawn accepted to Harvard, she got a full ride. She wasoffered tuition, room and board, as well as assistance finding anon-campus job.

Thetiny town of Lawndale rallied around Dawn again. They raised moneyto get her to Boston so she could see the school in person inApril.

"We in a sense had a collective responsibility to get her to Harvard,"says Aaron Allen, Burns High principal. "Even though Harvard wasgoing to pay for Dawn to go on her own, this is a girl who's hadmultiple moves, never flown, never ridden a subway, never reallybeen outside small town USA, North Carolina foothills, and you'reexpecting her to go to Cambridge all by herself?"

Barrett, hercustodial supervisor, traveled to Cambridge with her. "When we wentup there, it was just like she was at home. She will succeed, andshe will excel."

For Dawn, it wasn't a foregone conclusion that she would attend, buther inaugural visit solidified the decision. "I just could notpicture myself anywhere else, at any other college."

Helping others

Since Dawn's storyhas come out, she's attracted attention worldwide from well-wisherssending her everything from simple encouragement to monetarydonations.

Dawn doesn't want themoney. "When I get to college, I can work for what I need. And Iknow my future is going to be great."

She hopes to start a nonprofit organization to help other teens who'vehad obstacles in their educations, using the funds that have beensent to her. There are more than 200 students listed as homeless inCleveland County, where Lawndale is located.

"There are so manykids whose futures aren't so sure, and they need help more than Ido," she says. "I want them to be able to use my story asmotivation. And I want the general public to realize that there areso many kids who need help."

Thefinal pages of Dawn's high school chapter are nearing a close. Shewill walk across the stage today -- June 7 -- to accept herdiploma. She has invited her parents but isn't sure they will beable to attend. "If they're not there, it would be for goodreason."

But the one person she will look for in the crowd is her brotherShane.

"Throughout theyears, no matter where I've been or been through, he's always been there for me," she says, with a rare ghost of asmile.

Shane will attendBerea College in Kentucky on a scholarship.

Dawn has learned thesort of lessons that can't be learned in school. "I love myparents. I disagree with the choices that they've made. But we allhave to live with the consequences of our actions," shesaid.

She takes it all in stride. "If I had not had those experiences, I wouldn't be such a strong-willed or determinedperson."

Shemight just find Harvard to be easy.