AMERICA | A 27-year-old man tagged as a failure in high school proves people wrong, bags MBA from US university
A determined 27-year-old man named Markello Spivey who was tagged to be a failure in high school has defied the odds against him. He bagged a master’s degree in Business Administration at Florida A&M University, United States.
Spivey faced different challenges including disabilities and discouragement before he finally earned a university degree. He mentioned that in high school, he walked into his guidance counselor’s office and saw college banners hanging in the room.
However before he could dream of attending one of those colleges, his guidance counselor discouraged him stating that instead of pursuing higher education he would be more fit to pick up a trade.
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Spivey said since sixth grade, he was told he had a learning disability and, after being placed in special education classes, not very many people believed he was college material. However one day, he decided to stop listening to people and listen to his heart.
He not only overcame the stigma associated with being labeled as having learning disabilities but also had to overcome the hurdle of getting into college without an acceptable diploma.
Spivey mentioned that the former president of the United States, Barrack Obama’s presidential election also inspired him.
“I graduated high school in 2008, the year that Barack Obama was elected President of the United States and he was really my motivation,” Spivey said.
“I looked up to him. Just by seeing him, an African-American man and leader on television, and everybody chanting ‘yes we can,’ I knew that I wanted to be just like him. And that’s when I started to develop my plan and ask myself ‘how do I get there,” he added.
Spivey said since he was a special education student he only received a “special diploma” when he graduated high school and this type of diploma was not acceptable for college admission, so he pursued a General Educational Development (GED) at Florida Community
College at Jacksonville.
After he received his GED, Spivey enrolled for an associate’s degree at the college and graduated with honors. He proceeded to earn a bachelor’s degree in Business administration in 2016 at Florida A&M University.
After his bachelor’s, Spivey immediately began his master’s degree program while also being named one of the University’s Minority and Retirement Security
Fellows.
Now, Spivey has earned his Master of Business Administration at the same Florida A &M University. He said he would proceed to the Thurgood Marshall School of Law to earn a Law degree.
He said after law school, he has aspirations of practicing tort law, becoming a community advocate, and helping to eliminate the school to prison pipeline.
Advising other black men, Spivey urges them not to give up, to set goals, and to stay determined to reach them. He added that it is important to be around people who are like-minded and also determined.
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