Paul LeBlanc
Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU)
San Diego, CA USA
"Super smarts and talent are overrated. There are lots of smart people that fail all the time because they don’t show up. It’s great to be smart, but it’s better to have an incredible work ethic."
Career Roadmap
Paul's work combines: Education, Non-Profit Organizations, and Upholding a Cause and Belief
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
A professor wrote this in the margins of a paper I wrote for my freshman English class. I could have given up and followed that advice. Instead, this made me mad and want to prove to him and to others that I belonged in college. Being a first-generation college student brought me out of my comfort zone and continually shook my confidence, but it got better.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
English Language and Literature, General
Framingham State University
Graduate Degree
English Language and Literature, General
Boston College
Doctorate
English Language and Literature, General
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
Born in Canada, where he grew up speaking French as his first language—immigrated to the United States with his family when he was young.
2.
Grew up in a neighborhood where no one, not even in his own family, had ever gone to college—admits that he thought college was only for the rich and that it wasn’t accessible to him.
3.
After high school, he was planning on joining the military, but while attending a new student orientation visit at a college with his friends, he decided that going to college was a better path.
4.
Spent most of his adolescent and young adult life living in poverty—says that he lived off of food stamps while in college.
5.
Attended Framingham State University as a criminal justice major with the intent of becoming a police officer—was encouraged by a professor to instead pursue his love of books and major in English.
6.
Through a connection at Boston College, he received a fellowship that paid his tuition and enabled him to receive his master’s degree in English; he began teaching shortly afterwards.
7.
He went on to receive his doctorate in rhetoric and composition from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
8.
He is now the president of Southern New Hampshire University, the second-largest online university in the U.S., dedicated to providing affordable educational opportunities.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Teachers:
You don't belong in college. Maybe you should consider taking up a trade.
How I responded:
A professor wrote this in the margins of a paper I wrote for my freshman English class. I could have given up and followed that advice. Instead, this made me mad and want to prove to him and to others that I belonged in college. Being a first-generation college student brought me out of my comfort zone and continually shook my confidence, but it got better.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
No one in my family had ever gone to college and I grew up in a neighborhood where no one had gone to college. It was something we thought only rich kids did and that it was unattainable for us. It took a long time for me to feel like I belonged.
When I decided to go to college, it wasn't that far away from my family, but it was hard leaving. It was hard for me to adjust and it was hard for them to let me go. My family didn't know how to be supportive in this situation.
Learning rigorous academic discipline was difficult. I had been the student who did just enough in high school to skate by, but never challenged myself. Getting to college and having teachers challenge me, I just didn't have the state of mind.
I grew up poor and was poor for most of my early adult life. In college, I was living on food stamps and I remember having to eat corn flakes three meals a day for a while. You just learn to get by.