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There are some life stories that break the mould. Certainly an inspiration and perhaps a wake up call when one thinks certain goals are "impossible".
I thought this thread could be the start of a pulling together similar stories.
I suggest it would be appropriate to use this thread to post other examples of inspiring life stories .
Diagnosed with autism as a child, Arday found his voice through speech therapy and his mother’s unflagging support. Now he is using it with the same tenacity that saw him run 30 marathons in 35 days
by Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff
Tue 11 Jul 2023 19.00 AESTLast modified on Wed 12 Jul 2023 03.13 AEST
Jason Arday believes in destiny. The University of Cambridge’s youngest Black professor, he joined its faculty of education in March 2023, at 37. Before then, he had been a professor at Glasgow and Durham universities; published three books of academic work, mainly focusing on race and education; and, most importantly to him, raised more than £5m by doing charity work. All of this he has squeezed into a time period where he was learning to navigate the world with neurodivergence; Arday didn’t speak until he was 11 and couldn’t read or write until the age of 18.
It’s an unlikely story, he concedes, one that has made headlines and changed his life irrevocably. But he believes he was always going to do something great. “I knew I was destined to do something,” he says with a smile. “But I didn’t know it’d be this, admittedly.”
Arday’s story is one of grand heights, but also of profound lows. He has barely slept over the past 15 years, he says, working through most nights – often on his academic and charity work, but sometimes just to make ends meet. Until recent years, he struggled to find the balance he needed in the chronically underfunded academic sector, replete with zero-hours contracts. Alongside lecturing, as recently as 2016 he was employed by Sainsbury’s as a trading assistant. Prior to that, he was a late-night cleaner, mopping up vomit and scrubbing toilets. “I had a mantra I used to say to myself: ‘It won’t always be like this,’” he says.
Arday grew up on a council estate in Clapham in south London to Ghanaian parents. His mother, Gifty, was a mental health nurse; his father, Joseph, a chef. He is the second youngest of four brothers. His childhood was generally happy, but punctuated by some violence from the outside world. He has spoken about how many of the people he grew up with are “dead or in prison”.
I thought this thread could be the start of a pulling together similar stories.
I suggest it would be appropriate to use this thread to post other examples of inspiring life stories .
Jason Arday: he learned to talk at 11 and read at 18 – then became Cambridge’s youngest Black professor
Diagnosed with autism as a child, Arday found his voice through speech therapy and his mother’s unflagging support. Now he is using it with the same tenacity that saw him run 30 marathons in 35 days
by Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff
Tue 11 Jul 2023 19.00 AESTLast modified on Wed 12 Jul 2023 03.13 AEST
Jason Arday believes in destiny. The University of Cambridge’s youngest Black professor, he joined its faculty of education in March 2023, at 37. Before then, he had been a professor at Glasgow and Durham universities; published three books of academic work, mainly focusing on race and education; and, most importantly to him, raised more than £5m by doing charity work. All of this he has squeezed into a time period where he was learning to navigate the world with neurodivergence; Arday didn’t speak until he was 11 and couldn’t read or write until the age of 18.
It’s an unlikely story, he concedes, one that has made headlines and changed his life irrevocably. But he believes he was always going to do something great. “I knew I was destined to do something,” he says with a smile. “But I didn’t know it’d be this, admittedly.”
Arday’s story is one of grand heights, but also of profound lows. He has barely slept over the past 15 years, he says, working through most nights – often on his academic and charity work, but sometimes just to make ends meet. Until recent years, he struggled to find the balance he needed in the chronically underfunded academic sector, replete with zero-hours contracts. Alongside lecturing, as recently as 2016 he was employed by Sainsbury’s as a trading assistant. Prior to that, he was a late-night cleaner, mopping up vomit and scrubbing toilets. “I had a mantra I used to say to myself: ‘It won’t always be like this,’” he says.
Arday grew up on a council estate in Clapham in south London to Ghanaian parents. His mother, Gifty, was a mental health nurse; his father, Joseph, a chef. He is the second youngest of four brothers. His childhood was generally happy, but punctuated by some violence from the outside world. He has spoken about how many of the people he grew up with are “dead or in prison”.
Jason Arday: he learned to talk at 11 and read at 18 – then became Cambridge's youngest Black professor
Diagnosed with autism as a child, Arday found his voice through speech therapy and his mother’s unflagging support. Now he is using it with the same tenacity that saw him run 30 marathons in 35 days