Teachers Are Awesome: This Bostonian’s Running 155 Miles Across the Sahara For Student Laptops

Boston teacher Liz Byron is really going the extra mile for her students—155 extra miles to be exact. In April 2013 Byron plans to run what’s considered the world’s most difficult race, the Marathon de Sable, through Morocco’s section of the Sahara Desert. Runners carry their own food and supplies, “endure 120 degree heat, sand storms, and run between 26 and 50 miles a day.” She’s putting herself through such an extreme race to raise $50,000 to purchase a set of laptops for her sixth grade class at Gardner Pilot Academy in Boston.

Right now Byron’s students have just four laptops to use, which makes it pretty tough to ensure that they’re all digitally literate and able to access the wealth of educational resources available on the web. Given that 92 percent of Gardner’s students live at or below the poverty line, it can’t be assumed that they’ll have access to technology at home, either. “It’s frustrating to know that technology is so embedded in our lives and then you come to school and it’s absent,” Byron told local television station WBZ.

Why take on a challenge like this? “It may seem like a crazy race but what we attempt to do every day as teachers is a bigger challenge than trying to run 155 miles in the Sahara,” Byron says. So far she’s raised a little over $9,100 towards her $50,000 goal.

Want to help her class get those laptops? Click here to donate.

Photo via Liz Byron’s Crowdrise page.

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Savvy College Student Pays His Tuition with Money from Rebates

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Ever buy something that comes with a “free after rebate” offer and then you forget to mail it in before the deadline? Jonathan Hood, a doctoral student at Auburn University in Alabama’s never had that problem. In fact, he’s so savvy at the rebate game that he paid his tuition this semester with money he got back from his purchases.

Hood told Business Insider he’s been a rebate chaser since a Black Friday shopping trip when he was 15 years old. He’s long used the prepaid debit cards, cash, and checks that companies send back to pay for little stuff like his cell phone bill. But this year, Hood decided to see if it was possible to “generate enough income to pay for college using this method.”

Indeed, it sounds unbelievable but Hood managed to stockpile over 200 prepaid debit cards and checks. “Tuition for this semester was $4,500,” Hood says. “I paid over $2,500 of it with prepaid debit cards [from rebates] and a little over $1,000 of it with rebate checks.” That left him with less than $1,000 to pay out of pocket.

Now that this semester’s paid for, he’s starting to collect rebates for the next one. But how does he keep track of hundreds of rebates? It turns out Hood’s a computer programmer so he made a special program that keeps him up to speed on all the due dates. Maybe he’ll share it with the rest of the nation’s cash-strapped students so they can pay a little less out of pocket for college.

Photo via (cc) Flickr user borman818

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Savvy College Student Pays His Tuition with Money from Rebates

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Ever buy something that comes with a “free after rebate” offer and then you forget to mail it in before the deadline? Jonathan Hood, a doctoral student at Auburn University in Alabama’s never had that problem. In fact, he’s so savvy at the rebate game that he paid his tuition this semester with money he got back from his purchases.

Hood told Business Insider he’s been a rebate chaser since a Black Friday shopping trip when he was 15 years old. He’s long used the prepaid debit cards, cash, and checks that companies send back to pay for little stuff like his cell phone bill. But this year, Hood decided to see if it was possible to “generate enough income to pay for college using this method.”

Indeed, it sounds unbelievable but Hood managed to stockpile over 200 prepaid debit cards and checks. “Tuition for this semester was $4,500,” Hood says. “I paid over $2,500 of it with prepaid debit cards [from rebates] and a little over $1,000 of it with rebate checks.” That left him with less than $1,000 to pay out of pocket.

Now that this semester’s paid for, he’s starting to collect rebates for the next one. But how does he keep track of hundreds of rebates? It turns out Hood’s a computer programmer so he made a special program that keeps him up to speed on all the due dates. Maybe he’ll share it with the rest of the nation’s cash-strapped students so they can pay a little less out of pocket for college.

Photo via (cc) Flickr user borman818

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This Cleveland Honors Student Went from Homeless to Harvard

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Writer and education activist Jonathan Kozol reminds us that when it comes to education, we shouldn’t “celebrate exceptionality of opportunity,” and “charity is not justice.” Sometimes, though, we need one of those beat-the-odds kinds of stories to remind us that it’s still possible for kids to overcome even the direst circumstances.

Cleveland native David Boone knows a little something about that. Boone became homeless as a 14-year-old middle schooler after his house was shot up by gang members, but thanks to his hard work and the interventions of educators, he started at Harvard this fall.

Boone says he slept on park benches until a school nurse and his high school principal found out. The principal invited Boone to live with his family—he stayed there until he moved in with a school friend. And, although he’d earned poor grades in middle school, thanks to the project-based learning approach of his STEM-focused high school, he got excited about learning and began considering going to college. “My principal had given me Ron Suskind’s book A Hope in the Unseen about Cedric Jennings’ journey from the inner city to the Ivy League,” writes Boone. “That story gave me the courage not only to apply to college, but also to aim for academically rigorous schools.”

A weekend mentoring program called Minds Matter helped Boone, who had a 3.8 GPA, apply to college. “I had my heart set on MIT,” says Boone, “which is why my confidence was shaken when I didn’t get in.” But, when he found out last March that he’d been accepted to Harvard with a full scholarship, “I screamed, then called my mom and principal with the great news,” he says. “‘I’m so proud of you,’ my principal said before offering me two words of wisdom I’ll always remember: ‘Stay grounded.'”

Boone certainly seems to be following his mentor’s advice. He plans to major in electrical engineering and computer science, start a tech company, and “improve the lives of my family by helping them break the cycle of poverty.” He also wants to make sure his success story doesn’t become one of those rare exceptions. Boone plans to pay forward the assistance he received by creating a scholarship fund for students who “are in situations more difficult than mine.” 

Photo via (cc) Flickr user Paco Seoane

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This Cleveland Honors Student Went from Homeless to Harvard

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Writer and education activist Jonathan Kozol reminds us that when it comes to education, we shouldn’t “celebrate exceptionality of opportunity,” and “charity is not justice.” Sometimes, though, we need one of those beat-the-odds kinds of stories to remind us that it’s still possible for kids to overcome even the direst circumstances.

Cleveland native David Boone knows a little something about that. Boone became homeless as a 14-year-old middle schooler after his house was shot up by gang members, but thanks to his hard work and the interventions of educators, he started at Harvard this fall.

Boone says he slept on park benches until a school nurse and his high school principal found out. The principal invited Boone to live with his family—he stayed there until he moved in with a school friend. And, although he’d earned poor grades in middle school, thanks to the project-based learning approach of his STEM-focused high school, he got excited about learning and began considering going to college. “My principal had given me Ron Suskind’s book A Hope in the Unseen about Cedric Jennings’ journey from the inner city to the Ivy League,” writes Boone. “That story gave me the courage not only to apply to college, but also to aim for academically rigorous schools.”

A weekend mentoring program called Minds Matter helped Boone, who had a 3.8 GPA, apply to college. “I had my heart set on MIT,” says Boone, “which is why my confidence was shaken when I didn’t get in.” But, when he found out last March that he’d been accepted to Harvard with a full scholarship, “I screamed, then called my mom and principal with the great news,” he says. “‘I’m so proud of you,’ my principal said before offering me two words of wisdom I’ll always remember: ‘Stay grounded.'”

Boone certainly seems to be following his mentor’s advice. He plans to major in electrical engineering and computer science, start a tech company, and “improve the lives of my family by helping them break the cycle of poverty.” He also wants to make sure his success story doesn’t become one of those rare exceptions. Boone plans to pay forward the assistance he received by creating a scholarship fund for students who “are in situations more difficult than mine.” 

Photo via (cc) Flickr user Paco Seoane

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Psst, Student Innovators: The World’s Biggest Tech Competition Wants You

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Student innovators, start your engines. Registration’s now open for Microsoft’s annual Imagine Cup, the world’s biggest technology competition for students. Entering its 11th year, the competition invites high school and college students to use their tech skills to solve the world’s biggest problems. Student teams from around the globe have created everything from a smartphone app that diagnoses malaria to an app that reduces food waste by connecting leftover meals from restaurants with homeless shelters.

Although the talent demonstrated by the 1.65 million students from more than 100 countries who’ve competed in the Imagine Cup over the past decade is pretty phenomenal, this year the competition will be even more attractive, with increased prize money and new categories. 

True to the socially responsible roots of the competition, the “World Citizenship” category “honors the software application developed on Microsoft platforms with the greatest potential to make a positive impact on humanity.” The “Innovation” category “honors apps that give consumers inspiration and innovation at their fingertips” and, putting a fun spin on things, the “Games” category “honors the most engaging and entertaining games targeting teens and youth, built on Microsoft platforms.”

The prize amount for the first place winners in each category has been doubled to $50,000—a nice chunk of change that can be put toward college costs, or used to pay off student loans. Beyond the money, all finalists get skills development and mentorship, have a chance to network with tech industry executives, and get a shot at a $3 million pot of grant money that can help them turn their ideas into viable businesses.

To apply, simply register for the Imagine Cup competition in your home country. Next July the winners from each nation’s competition will be flown to the worldwide finals in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Photo via (cc) Flickr user ImagineCup

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Interactive Infographic: Student Debt in America

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This infographic is a collaboration between GOOD and Other Means, with support from MTV

As the election season kicks off, GOOD and MTV want to cut past all the blustering, pontificating, and finger pointing to get to the heart of some of the most important issues that America is facing today. Join us every other Wednesday for the next two months, when we’ll be graphically exploring through interactive infographics what goes behind the nation’s key issues.

Last time, we looked at energy independence and job creation. This week’s issue explores a pressing problem for students and their families: the rising cost of college tuition. Studies show that a bachelor’s degree can have a big impact on long term job prospects, but can students afford the price tag for a degree? How much money are students spending on their postsecondary degrees and is this financial investment paying off? Find the answers and more here.

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