At 17, I was kicked out of high school because I skipped class to work at my fast-food job and hang out with my friends. I was always interested in the MarinesAfter getting kicked out of school, I enlisted in the Marine Corps. AdvertisementI got my GED and took 15 units of entry-level community college classes, like English 101 and US History. AdvertisementI left the military and began classes at a community collegeTragically, our first daughter died during birth. It's pretty amazing that a Black kid from a low-income family who didn't finish high school was able to achieve all of this.

---

Persons: —, Andrew Hanson, I'd, Stanford, I've, they've, Lauryn Haas Organizations: Service, Business, Marines, Marine Corps, School of Infantry, Tragically, Stanford, Columbia, Department of Justice, Harvard University, Department of Veterans Affairs, Harvard Locations: Virginia, Chicago, Camp Pendleton , California, Iraq, New Orleans, California, Washington, Cambridge , Massachusetts, Skadden, Slate, lhaas@businessinsider.com