“If my story doesn’t show that you can do anything in life I don’t know what else does,” said Howard University student Corey Arvinger.
Last Monday Arvinger was busy replying to mentions on his Twitter account where news that mtvU and SALT, a free resource that helps college students and recent alumni take charge of their finances, payed off his debt and got him back to school.
There was a snafu plot before this random act of kindness however. Arvinger owed Howard $14,000 and was placed in a muddled situation that temporarily halted his college education.
Determined not to fall through the cracks, Arvinger worked at Kay Jewelers, coached JV basketball at his old high school and started fundraising by asking “4,000 people to contribute $4” to help him raise money for tuition.
#RandomActs today: @usherraymondiv & @realsway surprised the lucky & deserving Howard U student @arvingerc >> ow.ly/kLgey
— mtvU (@mtvU) May 6, 2013
“It wasn’t easy,” Arvinger said on his campaign website 4For1400 about reaching his goal to return back to school.
With a father absent at home Arvinger said his mother taught him and his sister, who also attends college, how to be a fighter and to never give up.
“I owe my mom everything. My mom is my number one supporter,” said Arvinger on his mother Miriam Arvinger. “Growing up in a single parent home she was all I had. I don’t know what I would do without her. She’s amazing.”
Arvinger said he and his mother did not get approve for a loan that ultimately forced him out of school. Arvinger maybe one of many students who had to abandon school because of a PLUS loan problem on HBCU campuses across the nation last year.
But with a sense of confidence on his future Arvinger said he is just happy to be back at “The Best HBCU” Howard.
“Don’t give up. Anything you want to do in life you can do and with God in your corner there is nothing you can’t do,” Arvinger said as advice to other students in similar situations. “All things are possible. Don’t wait for people to help you.”
Click here to watch Corey Arvinger mtvU video
[divider]
HBCU Buzz is the Most Influential Brand in the HBCU Community, and the Leading Source of HBCU News. Like The Buzz on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
