Against all odds

With the help and support of a lot of people, many of whom he doesn't even know, James Oliphant is succeeding in the face of considerable odds.

A full-time senior in the College of Human Services, Education and Public Policy, Oliphant also has a full-time job at Juniper Bank, where he recently won an award for his work. He has received the College's new Susan McLaughlin Scholarship two years in a row.

The scholarship honors former CHEP Assistant Dean Susan McLaughlin, who died in 1999. It is awarded to a student who has shown "outstanding character, motivation, discipline and promise in the pursuit of an undergraduate degree." The scholarship was created through the contributions of many individuals--former students, faculty and other campus colleagues and members of her family.

"Most of the gifts to this scholarship endowment fund were under $100," says CHEP Dean Timothy Barnekov. "The Susan McLaughlin Scholarship really underscores the importance of all gifts. When combined, even relatively modest donations can make a substantial difference in a student's life."

It's the details of Oliphant's life that make his current achievements all the more remarkable.

In 1991, when he was in sixth grade, he, his brother and mother were in a head-on collision that nearly killed his mother. The other driver had no car insurance, and Oliphant's family had no medical insurance to cover the nine months his mother spent in the hospital.

During this time, Oliphant's father cared for him, his brother and sister and operated the family's leasing business. By the time his mother was released from the hospital, the business was in trouble and medical bills had depleted the family's savings.

A couple of months later, Oliphant's father had a massive heart attack and a series of strokes that required a long period of rehabilitation. The bills and psychological stress drained the family of everything. The business went bankrupt, and the parents and three children found themselves homeless.

They lived with relatives, with members of their church and in a shelter for homeless families until they eventually became able to afford their own apartment.

As a high school student, Oliphant held a full-time job at a local restaurant to help support his family, leaving him little time for homework. His grades suffered, and although they improved to A's in his senior year, he says no one thought he could get into college. But, he says, he was determined to go to the University of Delaware.

"I had a lot of teachers pulling for me," he says. "Teachers who had given me D's wrote reference letters telling UD how hard I worked and that they thought I had potential."

He was accepted by the University as an undeclared student. Oliphant's adviser was William Zagar, now assistant registrar but then working in the University Advisement Center, who urged him not to give up and assured him he could succeed even when his grades fell and he had to become a part-time student. Zagar also suggested he take some courses in CHEP, and Oliphant says he instantly liked them.

"My whole life relates to these courses," he says. "They are about society, family and interfamily relationships, different cultures and trying to understand why people are what they are."

His child development course was taught by Dene G. Klinzing, professor of individual and family studies, who encouraged him to apply to CHEP and later recommended him for the Susan McLaughlin Scholarship.

When Oliphant brought his grades up and was readmitted as a full-time student, he entered CHEP as a human services, education and public policy major. It's an interdisciplinary course of study that emphasizes professional skills and reflects CHEP's mission--to address problems that affect children, families, schools, communities, the environment, consumers and service institutions, and public policies.

"You're not going to find a better home than CHEP," Oliphant says. He credits the College faculty and staff with helping him make it through, especially Klinzing; Kristine Ritz, student support services officer; and Norma Gaines-Hanks, assistant professor of individual and family studies. He also credits the financial assistance provided through the McLaughlin Scholarship.

"Words just don't come that can show my appreciation," Oliphant says. He describes himself as "floored" when he learned that he was the first McLaughlin Scholarship recipient and says the value of the $1,000 award extends beyond the financial help it provides.

"It was definitely a motivator because now I know that everyone is watching and believing in me," he says.

Oliphant says he's so enthusiastic about CHEP that he's convinced his sister to finish her degree there.

His job with the restaurant helped his family survive and helped pay for his education, but he was saving, too, and last year, Oliphant bought his family a new townhouse. He also left the restaurant business to work for Juniper Bank in its collections department. In talking to customers who have fallen into debt, he says, he's discovered that he is working with many people who have no idea how to help themselves.

"There were people who needed advice but weren't getting it," he says.

He remembers talking to a single mother who had four children, including a newborn, and was about to be evicted. Instead of threats, he gave her advice on where to find resources. He helped her with her obligation to Juniper and suggested ways to work with other collectors. The bank has given him more responsibilities, citing his compassion, empathy and understanding for customers.

Oliphant says he truly believes that the things he and his family have been through, combined with an education that has helped put his experiences into perspective, have left him in the perfect place to help others.

"I've never regretted anything bad that's happened to me because I've learned so much from it, and I believe that it will allow me to help people," he says.

--Barbara Garrison