Success Story

CollegeBound Foundation Accomplished Alumni 
Dr. Michael R. Smith, Jr.
Board Certified Podiatrist, Kaiser Permanente

Dr. Michael Smith knows what it feels like to come *so* close to realizing your dream and then almost watch it slip away. Like so many before him, Michael's dream was to become a doctor.

Twelve years ago Michael was a good student finishing his senior year at Baltimore City College High School. He had been accepted at Howard University and awarded a scholarship that covered tuition, and he had landed a part time job where he could earn enough to cover room and board.

But he didn't have the money for books and class fees.

He was so close to escaping the poverty and despair of his Cherry Hill neighborhood, he could taste it. But not having that extra $1,000 a year looked like it was going to come between this high-achieving, low-income student and his dream of going to college and becoming a doctor.

Michael received a CollegeBound Foundation Last Dollar Grant and today Dr. Smith is board certified and the acting Chief of Podiatry for Kaiser Permanente's Mid-Atlantic Medical Group in the Baltimore Region. Michael is just one example of many CollegeBound success stories. Today, CollegeBound alumni have established careers in business, medicine, law, engineering, government, education and entertainment.

CollegeBound provides college access, scholarships and grants to underserved, Baltimore City high school students. In 2012, the foundation awarded $377,000 in scholarships and grants and secured college acceptances for 1,397 CollegeBound advised students. 

CollegeBound changes "impossible to I'm Possible!"