Local kid makes good over in Louisiana. Watch this reaction when a high school senior finds out he got accepted to Cornell:
The Cornell Daily Sun reported yesterday:
Brendon Gauthier’s fingers were shaking Thursday as he sat at a computer surrounded by dozens of friends, teachers and family members, waiting to see whether he had been accepted or denied to his top choice, Cornell University.
“It was just the most nervous I’ve felt through all my 17 years of living,” Gauthier told The Sun. “Typing on the computer was very slow to what I normally do.”
ut Gauthier, born and raised in Opelousas, La., said the viral video didn’t catch everything.
“What’s not in there is me crying,” he said. “As soon as I got to my family, I immediately just broke down. Whenever I saw them, I saw my history — I saw my life throughout 17 years and all the trials and tribulations that I went through.”
“People see that positive end result, but I would definitely like to say that it did not come easy,” Gauthier continued. “Nothing on this grand of a scale comes easy. Everything that has led to this moment was hard.”
Gauthier, who will be attending the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences next fall and wants to become a veterinarian, said he was attracted to Cornell because of its close-knit student body and the founding ideology of Ezra Cornell.
“That’s the type of environment I want,” he said. “I saw the family-like aspect of it. That’s something that I hold near and dear to my heart.”...
Gauthier said he was raised in a low-income family and his mother worked long hours to give him the opportunity to make a name for himself. She also pushed him to work hard in school, telling him to keep his head in his books and prioritize classes over sports.
“If I didn’t want [a good grade] for myself, I damn sure wanted it for my mom,” Gauthier said. “If I don’t succeed, then I’m letting her down. … That’s what’s always fueled my drive: to get my family in a better situation.”... Rest of the article.
A heartwarming story. Good job, Mr. Gauthier, good job.
12 comments:
God knows my home St.Landry Parish, need a win....
Good for him!!
Great school and a beautiful campus.
If you want to be a veterinarian in Louisiana, you'd be better off talking the full scholarship that you'd have undoubtedly gotten to MSU, which every bit as good as Cornell in that field, and will offer you far more connections in this region of the country.
Not to be a downer -- this is a tremendous accomplishment. He and his family should be very proud. But kids that age view college choices as winning a contest, rather than the next stage in what should be a logical plan. And many regret it.
A young man is blessed with a mother who values education and makes it a priority in her life. He feels parental pressure to succeed beyond any peer pressure from his "friends" or outside influences. That's the key. It never fails.
great, now he'll be brainwashed after his first week. he'll come back to Louisiana and wanna change things!! hope he doesn't major in some useless degree up there.#HottyToddy #HarvardoftheSouth
Wow. Kid does great and you clowns just can't wait to trash him. #whywecanthavenicethings.
An Ivy League education/degree opens doors that others don't. It's a special club.
The Trumpettes only cheer for their own, they don't want anybody to have nice things.
Congratulations, Brendon Gauthier! I do believe we need more young people like you. Wishing you only the best in life!
So much negativity over a kid's doing well in life. Maybe going to Cornell isn't the absolute BEST thing for a vet practice in Louisiana. But attending that school will allow for unbelievable networking opportunities. It will expose him to ideas that aren't necessarily what we hear here in the South. If he's as smart as he seems, exposure to opposing ideas will strengthen him--not contaminate him.
More importantly, though, think of the opportunities this could provide his family--younger sibling, children, grandchildren, etc. It is much easier for the family of alums to get into an Ivy League School than non-alums. This kid has opened the door for his family to a lifetime of growth. Poke holes in that statement all you want, but I bet you are the same people who bemoan the lack of success at JPS on this blog one day then criticize this kid the next.
Dream big, follow those dreams, and then dream again when you've reached the original ones. Opportunity to achieve success by dreaming big is what makes our country great.
Not trashing the kid at all, KF. And I'm actually a member of that "special club" of Ivy grads 9:40 mentions, so no sour grapes either.
But you'd be surprised how many young adults with Cornell, Brown, and even Harvard degrees are out there earning middle-class wages (at best) with upper class debts because they thought they had "won" just by getting into the school ranked the highest by US News.
Anyway, just hoping that doesn't happen here, to this very talented young man who deserves all the congratulations he's receiving.
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