A 24-year-old has been accepted into Harvard Law School after working as a garbage collector for three years (of waking up at 4 am) to pay for his education.

His grades weren’t strong, and teachers gave up on him, going so far as to call him “handicapped,” he said. When it was suggested he be placed in remedial classes, Staton’s father found him a tutor at a community center.

“I ended up getting on the honor roll the rest of that year,” Staton said. “The same teacher who suggested I be placed in special education actually wrote my dad an apology note.”

Staton turned to athletics to keep him, and his grades, in shape. Through high school, he hoped to become a professional boxer after graduation — until a devastating injury to his shoulder forced him to put down his gloves for good. “I couldn’t go to the doctor, because we didn’t have health insurance,” Staton said. “I was crushed.”

With low SAT scores, he was rejected from every college he applied to. That’s when Staton got a job at Bates Trucking & Trash Removal.

It was here that his ex-convict colleagues and the company owner's son Brent Bates saw his potential and helped him get the break he deserved

In addition to Harvard Law, Staton was offered admission to Columbia University, University of Southern California, University of Pennsylvania and Pepperdine University.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8502171/Maryland-student-took-garbage-collector-job-support-family-goes-Harvard-Law-School.html

https://nypost.com/2020/07/09/student-who-collected-trash-to-pay-for-college-admitted-to-harvard/

and especially the Good News Network:

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/rehan-staton-sanitation-worker-accepted-harvard/  because there is good news out there, but it's really hard to find.