Bosses: From The Marines at 18 to Yale Grad at 28
“I’m an example of the truth that you can always overcome obstacles,” says Hale. “Anything I’ve been able to accomplish is important only as it allows me to accomplish what I see as my purpose: to be the kind of leader who really does what needs to be done on behalf of people who need it the most to make life better — allowing and empowering them in a way so that they can discover their own purposes and reach their maximum potential as people. I think that’s the essence of my own story.”
The wise words of Adrian Hale, a 2017 Yale grad who has beaten the odds to achieve his incredible dream. Hale was recently profiled by Yale News leading into this weekend’s upcoming commencement celebrations. I thought his story was worth highlighting as an example of how what seems impossible at one point in life can turn out to be within reach one year, five years, even ten years into the future. Hale describes growing up poor in inner-city Rochester, the first of his family to go to college. While he did envision college for himself, at 18 he knew that his path was going to take a different rout than most.
Hale actually finished his degree in December 2016, and just a month earlier, gave a Veterans Day ceremony speech to an attentive audience on Beinecke Plaza. During his speech, he remarked that being at Yale at age 18 “would have been impossible.” His admission through Yale’s Eli Whitney Program, he says, was only possible because of one of many “interventions” in his life — serving in the U.S. Marine Corps. The Eli Whitney Program allows individuals with high academic potential whose educations were interrupted for five or more years to earn an undergraduate degree from Yale College.
At 18, feeling compelled to serve his country, Hale entered the Marines and spent two harrowing tours in Afghanistan before returning to the States and entering community college — vowing to continue to serve his community. The profile goes on to describe how he reflected on his own identity and goals while abroad. He describes the difficulty of returning to his old neighborhood after the Marines, dealing with PTSD, and how this all shaped his resolve to achieve.
“After feeling a part of a greater, larger purpose, I came home and saw that not a lot had changed,” he said. “I saw friends from high school who had begun to perpetuate the conditions many people in my community — especially the black community — were born into: dead-end jobs, becoming a young parent, being impoverished. I went through a really dark depression for a very difficult five-to-six month period.”
Obviously this all turns out to be a remarkable and uplifting story, with Hale entering Yale and studying politics, law and philosophy. Post graduation, he wants to give back to those most in need, and even focused his senior thesis on education reform in his hometown of Rochester. Read more about this inspiring story of resilience, perseverance, and self reflection here. Boola Boola, Congrats Adrian !
