The Anti-Julia

The internet is ablaze with the "Julia" meme, the composite girl who grows up benefiting from the munificence of government under Barack Obama.  Most people on the left nod in assent, while those on the right find the story chillingly patronizing.  Lots of good stuff out there on Julia.

By way of Ann Althouse, this story of the real girl who made her way up from nothing to Harvard, with a little help from her community.

Girl, 18, who grew up homeless and didn't know how to wash wins scholarship to Harvard

Homeless, abandoned by her parents and once declared a high school dropout, a hardworking 18-year-old has turned her life around earning her acceptance into Harvard University with scholarship this fall.

High school graduate Dawn Loggins says her life in Lawndale, North Carolina first started out in decay, among bullying and a broken home surrounded by drug use and squalour before eventual abandonment by her parents.

But at some point, a guidance counselor took interest in her, and got her on a path to well, somewhere.

Others in her community pitched in as well with her school offering her a job as a high school custodian. A local dentist gave her toothpaste and a toothbrush.

Remember all the libs getting down on Newt Gingrich for saying that underprivileged kids should be given paying jobs cleaning the schools?  Hey, turns out it works!  Whodda thunk?

Aiming to one day major in Biology, her work in honour and Advanced Placement courses all came to a glorifying reward last March when she opened up acceptance letters from not just four universities she had applied to, but her dream school: Harvard.

'Dear Ms Loggins,' the letter read, according to the Gaston Gazette. 'I am delighted to report that the Admissions Committee has asked me to inform you that you will be admitted to the Harvard College class of 2016... We send such an early positive indication only to outstanding applicants...'

I discourage you from going into biology.  Aim for medicine.  Goodness knows we need the doctors, and we'll need them even more in the future.

As far as school costs, the university has offered to pay for tuition as well as room and board, but she will have to find other ways to pay for books and living expenses she said.

After meeting with financial aid they plan to help her find at job on campus as well.

'If there is anybody at all who has a dream,' Ms Loggins told WBTV, 'then they can definitely make it happen. There are no excuses. It depends on you and no one else.'

That's a good use of all the money that Harvard has piled up in its endowment.