DATE: Tuesday, August 26, 1997              TAG: 9708260375

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY NANCY LEWIS, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   67 lines

NSU FRESHMAN HAS BEATEN STREETS TO FOLLOW HIS DREAM FAMILY SUPPORT AND FAITH HELPED HIM STAY ON THE STRAIGHT AND NARROW.

During his Park Place youth, Tarrod Cunningham often walked the thin line between tough streets and staying straight.

Sometimes, it seemed, his life swung like a metronome from good to bad.

Monday, he was solidly on the good side - and realizing a dream when he started classes at Norfolk State University.

``Second to God, I've got my mother to thank,'' said the 18-year-old, taking a break from band practice. He'll major in computer science and envisions himself the owner of a large and successful computer firm in Norfolk someday.

``You've got to have a goal,'' he said. ``Without a goal, you aren't ever going to succeed.''

Cunningham's dream of a college education was one that sometimes seemed to have all the odds stacked against it. Often, it was a precarious balancing act that could easily have become a nightmare but for the determination of a young man with a vision and a family, church and community that backed him up and expected his best. They got it.

In a series of stories over the past year and a half, The Virginian-Pilot has followed Cunningham through good and bad, from being shot to searching in vain for a job. Sometimes it seemed the mean streets would win.

Ultimately, though, he says that what made the difference was a combination of ``listening to the news and thinking what I wanted my future to be like'' and believing he had to live up to the faith others had in him.

``A lot of people looked up to me, and I didn't want to let them down. I wanted to be a good role model. They were looking at me. They wanted to see if it would continue.''

In June, Cunningham graduated from Maury High School with a B average and honor-roll status.

The 6-foot young man is attending NSU on a full, four-year scholarship from the city of Norfolk. He won a competition against dozens of other students - he thinks it was because of his volunteer work with the city's youth.

Cunningham received the 1996 Youth of the Year award for working with kids at the Colonial Boys and Girls Club and the Boys and Girls Clubs of South Hampton Roads. He also served as youth representative for the Norfolk City Council and was active in other community organizations and his church.

Cunningham is the son of Ernestine Cunningham Davis and stepson of Alex Davis.

One thing his mother always insisted upon was a morning prayer, he says, even if there wasn't time for breakfast.

His stepfather and older brother are both in the Merchant Marine, and he says they've both been positive role models for him.

But despite his best intentions, Cunningham racked up frequent suspensions in school. Some blamed it on his hot temper; Cunningham says he preferred to speak his mind instead of holding things in and allowing them to explode later.

His schedule at NSU is challenging. He's on campus from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day, in part because of Marching Spartan Legion Band practice. Then comes homework.

``I have to do all my homework. There's a lot of stuff to learn here.''

Though Cunningham has a girlfriend, he doesn't plan to marry until after graduation. And he hopes to go on to graduate school. ILLUSTRATION: TAMARA VONINSKI/The Virginian-Pilot

``Second to God, I've got my mother to thank,'' says 18-year-old

Tarrod Cunningham, whose perseverance and community service earned

him a scholarship to Norfolk State. One of his extra-curricular

activities is the marching band, for which he plays the alto

saxophone.

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