Calibe Simpson, a Jamaican immigrant who struggled with homelessness, got the surprise of her life at her high school graduation in Hartford last week.<\/p>\n
The commencement speaker, UConn alumna Trisha Bailey \u201999 (CLAS), called her up on stage and announced that she was going to cover a significant portion of her costs to go to UConn.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was so surprised I started crying,\u201d Simpson said after the ceremony at Weaver High School. \u201cThis is a dream come true for both me and my family. Until today, I did not know where I would get the money to pay for college.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bailey\u2019s generous support over the next four years will supplement the financial aid UConn is providing. Bailey, a Jamaican-born philanthropist and successful entrepreneur, says she saw herself in Simpson and was moved by her story.<\/p>\n
\u201cUConn gave me my first chance,\u201d Bailey says. \u201cNow, in collaboration with UConn, we\u2019re going to give Calibe her first chance at success.\u201d<\/p>\n
Simpson grew up in an extremely poor area of Jamaica. She was raised by a single mother, who tried mightily to support Simpson and her younger brother but often struggled to put food on the table.<\/p>\n
When Simpson was invited to come to the United States two years ago to live with her aunt in Hartford, she jumped at the chance. She enrolled in Weaver and quickly got involved, playing three sports, becoming class president, and working part-time at a local restaurant. But her housing arrangement fell apart and she suddenly found herself homeless. Weaver and DCF officials stepped in to help her find a new legal guardian.<\/p>\n
As she got ready to graduate this spring, she applied to and got into more than 15 colleges with UConn as her top choice. But she had no idea how she\u2019d pay for college.<\/p>\n
A teacher saw Simpson\u2019s potential and reached out to Bailey. The teacher had been friends with Bailey since they had gone to Weaver together. She knew that Bailey provides scholarships to hundreds of students in her home state of Florida.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told her that I see something in this young woman,\u201d the teacher, Colette Daye \u201900 (CLAS), says. \u201cCalibe has a big heart. She has nothing, but she is always trying to help someone. She tries to give to others who don\u2019t have anything. I\u2019ve listened to her encourage her classmates to apply for college. I was just so impressed with her.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Bailey heard Simpson\u2019s story, she decided to surprise her at graduation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw myself in this young girl,\u201d Bailey explains. \u201cI grew up in Jamaica and I was pretty much below the poverty line. I\u2019m impressed that she\u2019s excelled so well in her studies despite all her challenges outside of school. What touched my heart more than anything else was her kindness, and how she is always helping everyone else. Her level of kindness resonates with me because that\u2019s who I am and that\u2019s the type of people I want to support.\u201d<\/p>\n
Simpson says Bailey\u2019s generosity has changed her life.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to be able to go on and get my degree,\u201d Simpson says. \u201cIt\u2019s going to help me build my career. I know I\u2019m going to work hard and I\u2019m going to make her proud. It\u2019s a dream come true.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bailey is a highly successful entrepreneur who founded several medical equipment and real estate companies. Her autobiography, \u201cUnbroken,\u201d is due out in July. While at UConn, she was a student-athlete on UConn\u2019s cross-country and track and field teams. A proud alum, she recently committed a major lead gift to build the Bailey Student Athlete Success Center on the Storrs campus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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