High School Students Inspired by Motivational Speaker

Doug Luffborough has dedicated his life to working in education and with non-profit groups and now travels the world as a motivational speaker. Recently, Luffborough shared his compelling life story with the high school students of Camp Enterprise. The camp was created by the Rotary Club of Long Beach and invites around 60 students from the Long Beach area to travel to Big Bear, where they gain hands-on experience in creating their own businesses. Luffborough, much like the program itself, aims to inspire and motivate apathetic or troubled students to plan for their future.

Luffborough, who spoke to both students and Rotarians at the Queen Mary on March 29, began by recounting his difficult upbringing. With four children, Luffborough’s mother worked as a housekeeper and supported the family with an insufficient income of $7,000 a year. Despite living in poverty, she believed that all of her children would attend college.

Luffborough adopted this dream, as well, though he faced many discouragements throughout his childhood. In third grade, due to an unsympathetic teacher, he was labeled as a “struggling student” and because of his frustration, he developed a speech impediment. This did not keep him, however, from dreaming of being a professional speaker one day. He would go to the bathroom and practice speaking to himself in preparation for his future career.

In high school, his misfortunes escalated, and in a domestic dispute, the family lost their home. As a senior in high school, Luffborough was homeless and struggling to complete his education. He spoke with a school counselor who told him, “Doug, some kids go to college. Unfortunately, you’re not one of them.”

Luffborough said, “Despite my circumstances, I knew I was college material.” He decided to visit the Educational Opportunity Center where a compassionate woman helped him apply to college, and even paid his college application fees.

Luffborough was accepted to Northeastern University in Boston and majored in business and human resource management. Though he initially struggled with the heavy workload, he graduated in 1993 as valedictorian. He competed and was selected to give the commencement speech at his graduation, which would also host then-President Bill Clinton as the keynote speaker.

USA Today conducted an interview with Luffborough before the ceremony, asking him what he planned to ask the president when he met him. Luffborough somewhat jokingly responded, “My mother is a housekeeper. I can’t think of a better place for her to visit than the White House. I’m going to ask the president to ask myself and my mom to the White House.” His response earned him the endearment of the audience.

Luffborough was set to speak before President Clinton and, wanting to make an impression, decided to begin his speech in a non-conventional way. He started by singing, “Day-o, day-o, daylight come and me want go home,” the opening lyrics from the song “Day-O” by Harry Belafonte. This, combined with his moving speech about the struggles he faced in order to achieve his dream of graduating college, had a profound affect, not just on the audience, but on President Clinton, as well. Clinton, during his speech, turned to Luffborough and said, “I read an article about Doug, and in this article he says he plans to invite himself and his mother to the White House. Well I’m going to do just that.”

Within two weeks of the graduation, Luffborough and his mother were flying first class to spend three days in Washington D.C. Luffborough remarked, “He was so gracious to us both. He treated my mom like the queen that she is.”

As they were leaving the Oval Office, Clinton turned to him and said, “Douglas, if there’s anything I can do for you, let me know.” At this time Luffborough addressed the students in the audience to say, “If a person of influence offers to help you, take him or her up on it.” He did exactly that, calling on the president to help his brother and himself to apply to Harvard to earn their master’s degrees in education. They both received letters of recommendation and, combined with their impressive resumes, they were admitted to and eventually graduated from Harvard.

Luffborough concluded his inspirational story of triumph by telling the students, “You are a wonderful and worthy person. Appreciate that about yourself. No one has ever been or ever will be quite like you. You are an individual, an original, and all those things that make you uniquely you are deserving of loving praise, so today rise up and be recognized because today is your day to shine.”

kelley@beachcomber.news