美国国家公共电台 NPR Once A Homeless D.C. Teen, Now A Georgetown Graduate

 

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

We're now going to turn to Rashema Melson. She and I first spoke¹ in 2014 when she was graduating as valedictorian of Anacostia High School in Washington, D.C. She'd been living in a homeless shelter with her mother and brother. Just last weekend, she graduated from Georgetown University. I spoke with Rashema again today and started with a clip² from our previous interview.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

RASHEMA MELSON: A typical night is me coming home around 9:30ish. I usually - 'cause I'm so tired, I'll go to sleep, and I'll wake up in the middle of the night. And I'll do some work, and then I'll go back to sleep.

CORNISH: Do you remember what it was like to try and do your homework in a shelter?

MELSON: I do. And just listening to how my voice sounded, you could hear how drained³ I was and how tired I was. And just hearing how better I sound now, I'm in a better space now.

CORNISH: What was your typical day like in college?

MELSON: For the first two years, I was very sheltered, and I didn't go out a lot - at all actually. I even avoided the dining hall.

CORNISH: How come?

MELSON: I was very tunnel vision⁴, so I felt that, you know, I've come to Georgetown to get a degree. And I was - at the time, I was still dealing⁵ with the media. And it was a lot of pressure on me from a lot of people to do great, and it kind of boxed me in. And I kind of mentally let it get to me.

CORNISH: Was there a sense where you felt like, I can't fail?

MELSON: Yes. And so I did the cowardly thing, and I left Georgetown. I was getting married at the time. He was on a military base. And so to me, it was just like, this is a way for me to escape all of the pressure and expectations. And while I was there, I realized that I have way more talent and ambition and so many other things to accomplish that I couldn't settle for less. And so I decided⁶ to get up and come back.

CORNISH: That decision to come back - what was that like?

MELSON: Deciding to come back was amazing because then I knew what I was really set out to do. I was ready to execute⁷ and conquer⁸ any challenge that stood in my way.

CORNISH: One of the things that was hardest for me when I was in college was adjusting to how casually⁹ everybody spent money - right? - 'cause I was just used to not having any. Were there things that you also, like, felt like you had to adjust to living in the dorms and...

MELSON: See; me, I'm not an adjuster. What I do is I make change. And so when I got to campus¹⁰ - I would say, for starters, my roommate - she comes from a middle-class family. And we were in bed one day, and she said, you know, I want a color printer 'cause this black-and-white isn't working for me. And I was just like, I grew up without a home; you're complaining about a printer. That's a little ungrateful, don't you think? And me and her always tell this story - just the advantages that you don't look at. So when you talk about people spending money, I never feel like I need to adjust or get used to it. I just speak upon my life experiences, and people use it to change for the better.

CORNISH: What's next for you? What are you going to be looking forward to in terms of your career?

MELSON: The next step is to work for a service organization for maybe a year or two, and then I'll be headed off to law school. I know at first I said I was going to med school, but it's something about...

CORNISH: In fact, you said forensic¹¹ pathologist.

MELSON: Yes.

CORNISH: You were very specific (laughter).

MELSON: I was very specific in what I wanted to do. But while at Georgetown and while seeing the opportunity that I had, I really want to make a difference. I want to mentor¹². I want to change laws. I want to pour love into our system. I want to really let people know that they matter. And I don't think that's happening enough, which is why we tend to give up on ourselves. But soon all the statistics¹³ about us will be changing for the better.

CORNISH: Well, Rashema Melson, thank you so much for speaking with us. Congratulations.

MELSON: Thank you. Thank you.

CORNISH: And we should mention that Rashema's mom is now living in an apartment in D.C. Her brother is going to Syracuse University.

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 clip   

n.夹子，别针，弹夹，片断；vt.夹住，修剪

参考例句：

• May I clip out the report on my performance?我能把报道我的文章剪下来吗？
• She fastened the papers together with a paper clip.她用曲别针把文件别在一起。

3 drained   

v.（使）流干， （使）逐渐流走( drain的过去式和过去分词 )；喝光，喝干；使（精力、金钱等）耗尽

参考例句：

• His face was drained of all colour and animation. 他面如死灰。
• She suddenly felt totally drained. 她突然感到精疲力竭。

4 vision   

n.视觉，先见之明，光景，视力，眼力，幻想，影像；vt.幻想

参考例句：

• The wall cuts across our line of vision.那面墙挡住了我们的视线。
• Much reading has impaired his vision.大量读书损害了他的视力。

5 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 execute   

vt.执行，实行，实现，实施；处死，处决

参考例句：

• Never once did I doubt that I would be able to execute my plan.我从未怀疑过我能执行自己的计划。
• The general gave the word to execute the deserters.将军下令处决逃兵。

8 conquer   

vt.克服，征服，战胜，占领；vi.得胜

参考例句：

• There is always one thing to conquer another.一物降一 物。
• Will can conquer habit.意志能战胜习惯。

9 casually   

adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地

参考例句：

• She remarked casually that she was changing her job.她当时漫不经心地说要换工作。
• I casually mentioned that I might be interested in working abroad.我不经意地提到我可能会对出国工作感兴趣。

10 campus   

n.大学校园，学校校园；大学　

参考例句：

• They spoke of the old days on the campus.他们谈起昔日的校园生活。
• The campus covers an area of twenty square kilometres.这个校园占地二十平方公里。

11 forensic   

adj.法庭的，雄辩的

参考例句：

• The report included his interpretation of the forensic evidence.该报告包括他对法庭证据的诠释。
• The judge concluded the proceeding on 10:30 Am after one hour of forensic debate.经过近一个小时的法庭辩论后，法官于10时30分宣布休庭。

12 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。

13 statistics   

n.统计，统计数字，统计学

参考例句：

• We have statistics for the last year.我们有去年的统计资料。
• Statistics is taught in many colleges.许多大学都教授统计学。