Rehan Staton, a former Maryland sanitation worker, is graduating from Harvard Law School. “I got lucky, but I made the most of my luck.”
I just happened to be around people who cared enough about me. I worked for a trash company, where my co-workers told me that I should go to college instead. I had a boss who let me leave work, go to school, and come back. I had a cousin who helped me study for the LSAT. My dad and brother sacrificed a lot for me.
Staton’s mother abandoned the family when he was 8. He and his older brother were raised solely by their dad. They struggled to make ends meet, his father working two or three jobs at a time. Staton’s grades floundered in seventh grade, and teachers believed he had a learning disability. “[I was] just going through poverty. I was hungry in class. I didn’t have food, heat, or electricity at home.”
After high school, Staton got a job at a trash and recycling company, where his co-workers, some of whom were former felons, pushed him to do more with his life. Staton cleaned dumpsters and collected trash from 4 a.m. until 7 a.m. After that, he would go to classes. Staton would become the undergraduate commencement speaker at the University of Maryland.
Staton was accepted to five of the nine law schools to which he applied. “I did it to save my family.” Television coverage brought his situation to the attention of Tyler Perry, who offered to pay Staton’s tuition, and to that of several law professors and attorneys who offered to help him navigate his legal training. At Harvard, Staton found a community of professors and classmates who helped him during the legendarily grueling first year, which was remote due to the pandemic.
Staton founded The Reciprocity Effect to honor and assist custodians and service workers at universities and corporate institutions.. For Staton, who will work at a law firm in New York after graduation, honoring service workers is part of his pledge to remain mindful of all the help he has received.
“I made cool connections and friendships. But I don’t want to forget who I am.”
