THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 24, 1996 TAG: 9604240038
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARSHA GILBERT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines
TWO NORFOLK STATE University seniors owe their education to an NSU alumnus-turned TV star.
Kwada DuBosu and Mylea Thompson are attending school courtesy of Tim and Daphne Reid. The celebrity couple paid their full out-of-state tuition to NSU and room and board - totaling $10,112 - and also provided them with an annual living expense.
The money was raised partly through the annual Tim Reid Celebrity Weekend, being held from Thursday through Sunday at NSU.
The students also go on vacations and spend time at home with the famous couple.
``It's not enough to write a check and drop them,'' said Tim Reid, who made his directorial debut with the recent film ``Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored.'' ``They have personal challenges. It's a personal commitment that we made. We know the involvement will be life-long.''
Growing up in New York, the future looked dark for DuBosu.
He was abandoned at birth and passed around through five foster homes until he ended up in a group home for emotionally and physically challenged children.
``My life was like a living hell,'' said DuBosu, now 25. ``I grew up like a weed, any ol' kinda way. I was never settled.. . . ''
In school DuBosu was told he had attention deficit disorder.
``My teachers didn't know how to deal with me,'' DuBosu said. ``I played with crayons and chalk, while kids in other classrooms were learning.''
At 13, DuBosu was adopted. His new family had 32 siblings and lived in a four-story brownstone in Harlem, with bunk beds throughout the 10 rooms and basement.
``In some ways my family felt like an institution too, but we had unity,'' he said. ``Some of my brothers and sisters were blind, had spina bifida or were retarded. It was the first time I felt loved and someone showed an interest in me.''
Reid offered to send one of the children to college and DuBosu was selected by his adopted father out of the 18 who were college age.
DuBosu, a psychology major, will be graduating in May. He wants to also earn a master's and Ph.D. at NSU and become a motivational speaker to children in institutions and foster homes.
Another Reid scholar, Mylea Thompson, babysat Daphne Reid's son, Christopher, when she was 9 and they all lived in Chicago.
Thompson grew up wanting to become a singer. But when she graduated from high school in 1985 she couldn't afford to go to college and study voice like she had dreamed. Daphne Reid offered to send her to NSU on a full scholarship.
``I didn't know how beneficial an education could be,'' said Thompson. ``I was motivated to finish because they were paying for it when I first started, but school required more of me than I had at that time. It wasn't enough to do it for Tim and Daphne.''
Thompson left school and later returned. It has taken her several majors and eight years to graduate this year as an English-education and library-media major. She plans to become a public school librarian.
``When I came back to school it was for me,'' Thompson said. ``I still love to sing. I performed more here than I ever did growing up. I used to be so shy. School has given me confidence. When you know you can accomplish something you gain self assurance. I'm not so afraid to do things now because I know I can do it well.''
The Reids received the first honorary doctorate degrees from NSU for their charitable acts.
Four other students are on full scholarships courtesy of the Reids, and another 25 to 30 students a year at NSU are helped with partial scholarships.
Reid, who graduated from what was then Norfolk State College in 1968, recalled supplementing his education by working as a waiter in Virginia Beach. He had to ask for a tuition loan from a trustee at the New Calvary Baptist Church in Norfolk.
``What inspired me to start the scholarship was thinking back over my life,'' said Tim Reid, ``about how people rallied behind me and helped me when I needed it.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by CHRISTOPHER REDDICK/The Virginian-Pilot
Kwada DuBosu, 25, is graduating in May, thanks to a Tim Reid
scholarship.
by CNB