Steve Pemberton manages to persevere through a very difficult childhood with the hope that college is in his future. Throughout the novel A Chance in the World by Steve Pemberton, the main character and speaker, Steve, continuously states how college is his only chance of escaping his dreadful foster family known as the Robinsons. Steve was let down many times when he was a foster child which greatly affects his emotional and mental state. His first foster parents abandoned him on the porch as a young child for many hours, and then he was placed with the even more abusive Robinson’s. There were many failed attempts and failed promises to remove him from the Robinson home and finally bring him a life of happiness. Although it took many years for Steve to have enough courage to speak the truth of the Robinson family despite their numerous threats, he finally defeated them. Despite the inhumane treatment and numerous attempts by his foster family to restrict his education, Steve managed to find the time to work hard in and outside of school. This hard work and determination is what helped Steve get accepted to Boston College. College will provide Steve many opportunities that were taken away from him through his childhood including independence, education, and family.
For Steve, college was a profound life changing experience. Boston College allowed Steve to grow as a person mentally, physically, and emotionally. Emotionally, he was able to make real human connections once the Robinsons were no longer in his life. Steve used to escape his world through the books given to him by Mrs. Levin, but now he can flourish in the real world. However, college was still a difficult time for Steve. As a freshman, he didn’t really make any friends his own age. It was tough for Steve to socialize because he was never allowed to before. Many of the students would often ask him his ethnicity but he never knew the answer which caused a great void when trying to connect with his fellow classmates. His closest friends his freshman year at Boston College were his janitor coworkers who played a big role in his life. Not knowing where he belonged in college was a change for Steve because he knew his place at the Robinson home was as a servant and not family.
Mentally, college changed him in many ways. He had to overcome his fears of being alone and not knowing who and where he came from. Even though as a child it had been one of the things that kept him going and fighting. Steve believed that one day his parents would come and rescue him from the dreadful Robinson home even though he had no idea who they were (run on). However, Steve eventually was introduced to Kenny Pemberton, his supposed father. He spent weeks trying to gather any information he could about Kenny. He even risked his life when he ran to the library to go through old newspapers hoping to find out any information but when he did not arrive home in time he was beaten. In the end, Boston College prepared and changed Steve’s life professionally as he “worked at Boston College in admissions, then went on to Monster.com and Walgreens, where he was chief diversity officer. He is now chief human resources officer with Globoforce, a company that, among other things, designs software to recognize and reward employees.” (Klein 2). College was a big adjustment for Steve, one that greatly changed his life for the better.
Boston College was Steve Pemberton’s dream. He truly believed that it was his only ticket out of the heinous Robinson home. Steve went into college with a positive state of mind, but soon realized that it wasn’t going to be as easy as he had anticipated. The workload and classes were more tough and more time consuming than high school. In the novel A Chance in the World Steve says, “Things were tougher in the classroom. . . my academic foundation was, in a word, shaky. The language of college was entirely new to me; I didn’t know what a GPA stood for, what a syllabus was, how to choose classes, how to take notes or how to prepare for a college exam. Mt time-management skills were terrible, as was my self-discipline . . .” (Pemberton 114). This gave Steve a sense that he had no home and didn’t know where he belonged in the world. With college not being everything he had dreamed it to be, he was considering dropping out. However, his janitor coworkers were able to help him through some of his loneliest times. These friends and mentors convinced him that he should stick it out and be grateful for the opportunities that college can provide him. Jimmy, one of the the janitors, even jokingly said that they would all give him a good kick if he didn’t return to school. This was a good reminder for Steve to remember why he enrolled at Boston College in the first place: to have the life he deserved. Eventually, with time, Steve started to understand college life and he started to make more friends, do better in classes, and finally start to feel he belonged.
Education is a very important life skill that I hope will positively impact my life. While college will increase my overall knowledge it was also help increase my life skills. These skills include time management, professionalism, confidence, focus, and more. All of these skills will help to create a bright and happy future. As for shaping my future, not only will college help improve my life skills but it will also allow me to make career connections through internships, study abroad programs, and job opportunities. All these resources will help to shape my future into a success and the life I have dreamed of. The peer advisor program is another amazing aspect of college. It is amazing program that gives incoming freshmen a mentor along with a helpful resource in shaping our futures. I also see college impacting my personal life in many ways. I hope to make lifelong friends and have amazing experience that I can carry with me forever.
Boston College gave Steve Pemberton the chance he needed to get the life he deserved. With only a few bumps in the road, he was finally able to gain his independence, an education, and, a family. Steve was able to persevere through the many tragic and troublesome events in his life, such as the Robinson’s, Boston College, and the many years of loneliness he felt with not knowing his family, and have a successful and happy life.
