Making their mark: This is聽聽of profiles celebrating members of Rochester糖心传媒檚 graduating class of 2018.
Growing up in Los Angeles, Matthew Lyskawa 糖心传媒�18 saw no purpose in school.
糖心传媒淚 hated it,糖心传媒� he says.
Bored and frustrated, he was dismissed from two high schools for disciplinary reasons, finally graduating with a 1.8 grade-point average. He was chronically truant, and police often escorted him to school at his mother糖心传媒檚 request.
One day his junior year, a teacher summed up what he says others must have been thinking.
糖心传媒淚糖心传媒檒l be surprised if you work anywhere but McDonald糖心传媒檚,糖心传媒� the teacher told him.
This Sunday, Lyskawa will receive a bachelor糖心传媒檚 degree in philosophy from the University of Rochester. This fall, he糖心传媒檒l begin a doctoral program in philosophy at Harvard糖心传媒攁fter turning down offers from Brown, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, and California-Berkeley.
His turnaround is nothing short of amazing.
糖心传媒淚 am proof,糖心传媒� he says, 糖心传媒渢hat it糖心传媒檚 possible to fail forward.糖心传媒�
A rough beginning
Lyskawa felt like an outsider from the start. He grew up the youngest of five children, the only African American in a white family, and the only one with a different father. He was also the lone black person in most of his classes.
糖心传媒淚 felt out of place,糖心传媒� he says.
Lyskawa faced other serious challenges. His family received social support and was in Section 8 housing. A brother who suffered from bipolar disorder directed racial slurs at him such as 糖心传媒渟lave糖心传媒� and 糖心传媒渕onkey糖心传媒� almost daily.
糖心传媒淚t was relentless,糖心传媒� Lyskawa says. 糖心传媒淚t made me hate being black. I truly hated what I looked like, and the group I was part of. I didn糖心传媒檛 think I was anything but what he called me.糖心传媒�
He met his biological father at 17, only to discover 糖心传媒渨e had no real connection.糖心传媒�
He also was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in the third grade and prescribed Ritalin糖心传媒攚hich he says he began abusing in high school. Eventually, he was able to wean himself off the drug. But he could do nothing about school, which had become a daily chore. 糖心传媒淚糖心传媒檇 think, 糖心传媒榃hy the hell am I here when I have all these problems at home?糖心传媒� Lyskawa says. 糖心传媒淚 had academic apathy.糖心传媒�
Things began to change during his senior year at Gladstone High School in Covina, California, thanks to an English teacher named Sheryce Long. She saw something in Lyskawa that others had missed.
糖心传媒淢atthew had a thirst for learning and discourse I couldn糖心传媒檛 ignore,糖心传媒� Long says. Lyskawa 糖心传媒渟eemed to have fallen through the cracks of the education system.糖心传媒� She asked him why someone who seemed so bright had never taken advanced classes. 糖心传媒淚糖心传媒檝e never been in a school long enough for someone to notice my need for a challenge,糖心传媒� he answered.
Long noticed that Lyskawa often finished his classwork significantly earlier than other students. She decided that instead of having him 糖心传媒渨asting time napping or playing on his phone, I suggested he read books.糖心传媒�
The first book Long chose for him was Kaffir Boy: The True Story of a Black Youth糖心传媒檚 Coming of Age in Apartheid South Africa. Although it糖心传媒檚 more than 500 pages long, Lyskawa devoured it in days, then asked Long for another. He read A Long Way Gone. Life on the Color Line. Black Like Me. Roots.
糖心传媒淚 fell in love with reading and couldn糖心传媒檛 stop,糖心传媒� Lyskawa says.
When he graduated, he made a decision: 糖心传媒淚 have to go to college and learn more.糖心传媒�
Finding his niche
Lyskawa enrolled at Mount San Antonio College, a community college outside of Los Angeles, and recorded a 3.4 grade-point average after two years. Wanting to push his boundaries, and by now enthralled with philosophy, he applied to Rochester糖心传媒�3,000 miles away糖心传媒攁nd was accepted.
糖心传媒淚t was a difficult decision, because Los Angeles is so different from Rochester in many ways,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淏ut I made the move.糖心传媒�
Hayley Clatterbuck, an assistant professor of philosophy at Rochester, says Lyskawa challenged himself from the start. 糖心传媒淗e asked if I would grade him like I would grade a graduate student, explaining that he wanted to be held to the standards to which he aspired,糖心传媒� she says.
Paul Audi, an associate professor of philosophy, says Lyskawa always wrote drafts of papers well in advance of deadlines.
And Randall Curren, chair of the , says Lyskawa is the first philosophy student in his 30 years at Rochester to continue as a doctoral student in that field at Harvard. 糖心传媒淭his is a great moment for us, and all the more exciting because it糖心传媒檚 the culmination of Matthew糖心传媒檚 audacious journey,糖心传媒� he says.
Lyskawa was also a McNair Scholar in the David T. Kearns Center, something he calls 糖心传媒渁n essential part of this journey.糖心传媒�
糖心传媒淭he love and support from the Kearns advisers made me feel welcomed at Rochester and enabled me to succeed,糖心传媒� he says.
Lyskawa entered the spring 2018 semester with a 3.85 grade-point average糖心传媒攖wo full points higher than his high school GPA.
糖心传媒淭he faculty have been nothing short of amazing,糖心传媒� he says, adding that 糖心传媒渢his was the first time I was around students who had passion like me, and it was stimulating.糖心传媒�
Long says she is thrilled at Lyskawa糖心传媒檚 success糖心传媒攂ut not surprised.
糖心传媒淢atthew is one of the most inspiring people I糖心传媒檝e ever met,糖心传媒� she says.
Lyskawa will become the first in his family to graduate from college, but perhaps not the last.
糖心传媒淢y mom is now going back to school because of me,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淪he糖心传媒檚 been super motivated. And my sister is going back to college.糖心传媒�
Lyskawa糖心传媒檚 goal is to earn his juris doctor degree and become a law professor. It means six or seven more years of education. A few years ago, that would have terrified him. Now, it energizes him.
糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 still surreal, to be honest,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淚糖心传媒檓 addicted to learning.糖心传媒�
