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Our Stories
Scott McLane
New Jersey
W. Scott McLane has undergone many challenges throughout his life, but ultimately he transformed himself into a person who values life and all it has to offer. He returned to Rutgers part time in Fall 2008 through the SAS Academic Amnesty program determined to be successful. Scott describes his first attempt at Rutgers in the late 80’s and early 90’s as
an epic failure. He recalls that after an alcohol related incident at the Busch Campus dorm he was referred to the Rutgers Alcohol and Other Drug assistance Program (ADAP), but at that time he wasn’t ready to get help.
Scott’s drinking got progressively worse, and he awoke fifteen years later at the age of 39 homeless and living out of a car with failing health. He never married, had no children, no career or no bank account. He admits he was totally destitute and in the depths of despair. He realized his loneliness most deeply because he was estranged from his family and friends. Scott says that his dad had graduated from St. Peters in Jersey City, and had secured a job with what is now one of the largest accounting firms in the world; however, he died alone in a dark and dingy room over a bar. Scott recounts how he later found out that his senior year at CBA was financed by Christian Brothers due to his father’s loss of employment:
“Alcoholism is not an intellectual exercise and even a high IQ could not deter his father from drinking.”
Scott’s last recollection of his father was “in handcuffs leaving home with police officers. It would be impossible to quantify the damage that alcoholism has done to my family, but thankfully, I seem to have been given another chance and am very grateful.”
A few days short of his 46th birthday, Scott became an American Studies major and achieved a GPA of 3.4. He proudly noted that although it took 18 years to return to school, he has been successful in his academic endeavors. He has two classes until graduation and is thinking about graduate school. A few short months prior to his return to Rutgers, he was reunited with his mother before she died and reconciled with his sister. Scott thanked whatever divine force allowed his mother to witness his road to recovery and he adds, “I carry her memory in my heart every day and will be thinking about her when I get that diploma.” He is celebrating over five years of sobriety and is giving back to the community by speaking at prisons, drug rehabilitation centers, and to convicted drunk drivers. He also spoke to graduate students at the Rutgers Center for Alcohol Studies and most recently to the senior class at their annual retreat as well as the SADD group, a student-run organization formerly known as Students Against Drunk Driving and now called Students Against Destructive Decision Making, at his old high school-Christian Brothers Academy in Monmouth county, while continuing his studies to maintain a strong GPA. Scott noted , “It’s been a slow, painful, and humbling journey. It’s such a gift to be able to give back.”
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