Hold Fast to Dreams
A College Guidance Counselor, His Students, and the Vision of a Life Beyond Poverty
Beth Zasloff ; Joshua Steckel
- An
- “invaluable”
- memoir
- by
- a
- counselor
- who
- left
- the
- elite
- private-school
- world
- to
- help
- poor
- and
- working-class
- kids
- get
- into
- college
- (Washington
- Monthly).Winner
- of
- the
- Studs
- and
- Ida
- Terkel
- AwardJoshua
- Steckel
- left
- an
- elite
- Manhattan
- school
- to
- serve
- as
- the
- first-ever
- college
- guidance
- counselor
- at
- a
- Brooklyn
- public
- high
- school—and
- has
- helped
- hundreds
- of
- disadvantaged
- kids
- gain
- acceptance.
- But
- getting
- in
- is
- only
- one
- part
- of
- the
- drama.
- This
- riveting
- work
- of
- narrative
- nonfiction
- follows
- the
- lives
- of
- ten
- of
- Josh’s
- students
- as
- they
- navigate
- the
- vast,
- obstacle-ridden
- landscape
- of
- college
- in
- America,
- where
- students
- for
- whom
- the
- stakes
- of
- education
- are
- highest
- find
- unequal
- access
- and
- inadequate
- support.Among
- the
- students
- we
- meet
- are
- Mike,
- who
- writes
- his
- essays
- from
- a
- homeless
- shelter
- and
- is
- torn
- between
- his
- longing
- to
- get
- away
- to
- an
- idyllic
- campus
- and
- his
- fear
- of
- leaving
- his
- family
- in
- desperate
- circumstances;
- Santiago,
- a
- talented,
- motivated,
- and
- undocumented
- student,
- who
- battles
- bureaucracy
- and
- low
- expectations
- as
- he
- seeks
- a
- life
- outside
- the
- low-wage
- world
- of
- manual
- labor;
- and
- Ashley,
- who
- pursues
- her
- ambition
- to
- become
- a
- doctor
- with
- almost
- superhuman
- drive—but
- then
- forges
- a
- path
- that
- challenges
- received
- wisdom
- about
- the
- value
- of
- an
- elite
- liberal
- arts
- education.At
- a
- time
- when
- the
- idea
- of
- “college
- for
- all”
- is
- hotly
- debated,
- this
- book
- uncovers,
- in
- heartrending
- detail,
- the
- ways
- the
- American
- education
- system
- fails
- in
- its
- promise
- as
- a
- ladder
- to
- opportunity—yet
- provides
- hope
- in
- its
- portrayal
- of
- the
- intelligence,
- resilience,
- and
- everyday
- heroics
- of
- young
- people
- whose
- potential
- is
- too
- often
- ignored.“A
- profound
- examination
- of
- the
- obstacles
- faced
- by
- low-income
- students
- .
- .
- .
- and
- the
- kinds
- of
- reforms
- needed
- to
- make
- higher
- education
- and
- the
- upward
- mobility
- it
- promises
- more
- accessible.” —Booklist
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