Friars Row is going in a different direction this week and focusing on a freshman from Newark, New Jersey with a dream. On the first day of this semester I didn’t know any freshmen in this class. Sometimes you can tell who the freshmen are because they have that terrified look on their face like someone is holding a gun to their head. I know because I remember having that same look on my face during my freshmen year.
When I first met Denzel Gray he did not have that look on his face so I was very surprised when he told me that he was a freshman. After meeting for the first time, I honestly did not think much of Denzel, not because I thought that he was a bad person, but because I thought that this is just another person that I have to do a group project with that hopefully is not going to hold me back on this project.
But I quickly found out that Denzel was a good guy with a good head on his shoulders. And the more we talked that more I found out that his road to St. John's University was not easy. He was not afraid to talk about his past and his journey to St. John’s which is the angle that I chose to pursue with this interview. Denzel was raised in Newark, New Jersey which was not the best experience.
Q: How was life in Newark, New Jersey?
A: Life in Newark wasn’t hard but it was pretty bad, in the beginning it was a typical neighborhood. The kids were my age, it was fun, and it was my mom’s first house. I stayed in school, I didn’t want anything to do with what my former friends who were stealing cars and doing drugs.
Q: Why did you come to St. John’s?
A: I came to St. John’s because it was away from home but not too far away from home. My dream is to one day be a writer for a hip hop magazine. New York is the mecca of media and everything goes on in New York.
Q: Is there anything that you hope to gain in your four year college experience or something that you hope to achieve?
A: I want to leave college saying that I learned something. So many people leave college and say all I did was pay for my degree. I want to genuinely say I learned something and got something out of this. I want to say at the end of the day college helped me become who I am.
There is no doubt that Denzel has a bright future ahead of him. After growing up in a place filled with high crime and gangs, Denzel has persevered and has decided to following his dreams of working for a hip hop magazine. Every person has a chance to choose their path, what will yours be?
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