Philadelphia teen travels rough road to become high school class valedictorian, earn scholarship to University of Pennsylvania

Jet, August 7, 1995

To say that Curtis Redding of Philadelphia has been through a lot in his 18 years is an understatement.

He grew up fatherless, had a mother on drugs, saw siblings shipped off to foster homes and has lived in more homeless shelters than he cares to recall. But that didn't stop him from recently being named the top-ranking student with a 98.275 average and class valedictorian during graduation ceremonies at Strawberry Mansion High School in the city.

Redding, who just started his freshman year at the University of Pennsylvania on a scholarship covering practically all his expenses, told Jet he sometimes thought he'd never survive his environment because the deck was stacked against him.

"I felt like that a lot of time," he said, "but I had to realize that was just the circumstances. All I had to do was continue to do what I was doing: doing what was right and what was good."

Though the long road from the innercity to the Ivy League halls of Penn was paved with obstacles, Redding was always optimistic. "My mother always taught us that we weren't going to have things given to us on a silver platter. So, I knew though things were kind of rough, they could only get better."

Redding said the key to his survival was that while he was going from one school to another while living in various homeless shelters, he'd always find someone at school to confide in who would inevitably offer a helping hand.

"I always tried to look for someone who would be there to help me," he began, adding, "Knowing I needed help, I'd look to others who had the resources."

He said a lot of time youngsters in dire straits don't get the assistance they need "because they're so embarrassed and they don't want people to know their business. But everybody could see what was going on in my family, so I had to put pride in the back pocket."

Just having a caring, concerned adult to take him under their wing helped keep Redding on track in school and out of school. And while he had always been a capable student, he admitted doing just enough to get by in classes.

But a love letter to a ninth-grade classmate changed all that. "I wrote her a love letter and she marked up the letter where I had made mistakes. She wrote at the bottom, 'Please watch for spelling and grammar,' I kept that letter for about two years. It was my inspiration for a long time," he said with a laugh.

"I learned I had to empower myself by obtaining knowledge. Skating by wasn't going to get me anywhere," he said. "After that, I never got a "B" on my report card again. I said, I've got to keep up these A's."

After completing his undergraduate studies, Redding dreams of getting an MBA, a law degree and even a degree in theology. "I've been blessed and God has given me a message to help others... I've been in church ever since I was born. My mom and grandmother made sure I had a spiritual foundation. I strayed away, but I had that foundation so it was easy to come back."

He wants to study religion because, "I just want to learn more, so when I talk to kids it's not just what I think or what I know, it can be based on the Bible."

In his moving valedictorian address, Redding poured his heart out to school teachers, administrators and the 115 members of the graduating class and their families and friends. "I told them some of the problems I went through and that I'm not the only one. There are people who have gone through more. (If they need help) they need to get out here and look for the resources and not be embarrassed or afraid."

He also told them, "The ones who are well off, open up your doors ad your hearts to others because you don't know when you may need some help."