A college student is celebrating after his stepdad told him he would never graduate.
Thursday Eastern Michigan University student Daivon Reeder tweeted, "My stepdad told me it was pointless to go to orientation, I wasn't going to graduate, 4-years later he's in jail and I'm well..."
My step dad told me it was pointless to go to orientation, I wasn't going to graduate.....4 years later he in jail & I'm well.... pic.twitter.com/bLftj8BXni
— KING KIDD (@_justcallmekidd) April 20, 2017
The tweet started trending on social media.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau roughly 20-percent of the black population has a bachelors degree.
"When I tweeted it I was just looking at my picture and the emotion was kind of ironic. I was saying because of two situations we’re two black statistics and he's on the bad statistic on the negative in jail and I'm on the good statistic on the black man who just graduated college," Reeder says.
There were plenty of times when Reeder didn't think he would make it.
"Every time I had a three page paper due and I waited the night before. I lost my scholarship at one point and I had to work really hard to get it back. It took like three years to get it back," He says.
Reeder thinks his mother and mentor helped get him this far.
His JROTC teacher Kevin Myles is also a veteran and stayed in close contact with Reeder throughout the years.
"This was a young man that was really destined for greatness because he wanted to persevere and endure,” Myles says.
Reeder says he doesn't know what he'll do next, but says he started a program that helps mentor children.
