Community College Of Philadelphia Student Honored For Overcoming The Odds From Drug Addiction to a Degree of Distinction

PHILADELPHIA, PA, APRIL 26, 2004 - It is said, that true success is not determined by what you have. Real success is measured by what you have overcome.

Kendall C. Wood is living proof that no matter how far you have fallen in life; your life is never a lost cause. It's never too late to turn your life around and become a concerned and productive member of society.

According to Kendall, one the greatest lessons that he has learned in life is: "There is no honor in the dishonorable."

Kendall, 44 and a full-time student at Community College of Philadelphia for the past two years, graduates next week. But early on, it was unlikely that anyone would have ever imagined him to be college material - let alone a leader or a candidate for community service.

For much of his childhood and young adult life, Wood was no stranger to the pressures and pitfalls of life. He was born and raised in the Point Breeze section of South Philadelphia, where he was surrounded by some of the worst elements of inner city urban life.

He dropped out of high school in the tenth grade. Soon after he joined the Job Corps and earned his GED. At the age of 17, he enlisted in the US Army. After completing a three-year tour of duty in 1981, he received an honorable discharge and returned to civilian life.

Although Kendall was now an adult, he was not ready to face the freedoms of civilian life. His life took a turn for the worst in his 20's. He hit rock bottom in his 30's. But now, he's accomplishing fantastic feats in his 40's.

Kendall's life began to spiral out of control when he became addicted to drugs. His destructive lifestyle eventually led to living in the filthy stretches of cardboard shanties in the Skid Row section of Los Angeles, the nation's largest homeless district that spans 50 blocks in downtown LA. He turned to crime to support his drug habit. The crimes he committed resulted in a series of arrests for burglary and several stints in prison.

Finally, tired of his dreadful life and the madness of living on the streets, Kendall checked into the VA Hospital in LA, where he got the help he needed to liberate himself from grips of addiction.

Today, 44 year old Kendall has managed to rise above his circumstances because he refused to let the stumbling blocks in his life destroy him. Now that his life has been transformed, he is using his life experiences and his abilities to be a beacon to others - and in so doing; he is rallying others to roles of responsibility.

For the past two years, he has been a full-time student at Community College of Philadelphia - with current cumulative grade point average of 3.78. On May 2, 2004, he will be graduating with an Associate's Degree in Science. In the fall, he is headed for Temple University to pursue a Bachelor's Degree. It is his ultimate goal to obtain a Ph.D. in Chemistry.

As a full-time student at the college, his list of accomplishments are many: March 2003, inducted into Rho Upsilon Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society of two-year colleges; elected Vice-President and Treasurer of the honor society the following month; and winner of the May 2003 National Chemistry Award for Outstanding Freshman. This month he was named the recipient of the prestigious Thomas W. Langfitt, Jr. Memorial Award for Volunteer Community Leadership.