Former UPS Driver Donates $20 Million To The College He Was Forced To Drop Out Of Due To High Costs 60 Years Ago
The cost of going to college in the United States is truly outrageous, and former UPS driver Calvin Tyler knows all about it…
Back in 1961, Calvin began studying business administration at Morgan State University, becoming the first in his family to attend college. Sadly, two years in he had no choice but to drop out due to the high costs, according to a college statement.
Later on, he started working as a UPS driver, and 40 years later Tyler has made it big after climbing his way to the top of the company ladder, becoming senior vice president of operations. In 1998 he retired and is now part of UPS’s board of directors.
Calvin Tyler had to drop out of college when he couldn't afford it. He eventually got a job as a UPS driver, and now, nearly 60 years later, he and his wife are able to make a $20 million donation to the university. https://t.co/yC712NDKqe
— WSVN 7 News (@wsvn) February 25, 2021
Today, as a way to give back, Tyler is helping students who have found themselves in the same situation as him back in the day.
Tyler and his wife have made a 20 million dollar donation to the college that he could not afford when he was young, making it the largest private donation Morgan State University has ever received. The money is set to go to their scholarship fund, The Calvin and Tina Tyler Endowed Scholarship Fund.
Launched back in 2002, the fund has given need-based full-tuition scholarships to Baltimore youth but has since been expanded to benefit students from all around.
Tyler said colleges have suffered immensely during the Covid situation, especially historically black colleges and universities which tend to have smaller finances.
“My wife and I have become keenly aware of the effect that the pandemic has had on a number of young people trying to get an education (and) we have the resources to help a lot of young people,” Tyler said, according to ABC7 News.
“This is why we are increasing our commitment at Morgan; we want to have more full tuition scholarships offered to young people so that they can graduate from college and enter the next stage of their life debt free.”
Morgan State University is the recipient of what may be the largest private donation made to a historically black university by an alumnus.
Calvin Tyler Jr. enrolled there 60 years ago, but dropped out because he couldn’t afford it. Now he’s pledging $20 million in scholarships. pic.twitter.com/I1UdZVzNRh
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) February 24, 2021
In 2016, Tyler and his wife gave $5 million to the school, back then the largest sum the Morgan State’s had ever received. Their scholarship fund has so far aided more than 200 students in attending Morgan State University, with 46 receiving full scholarships.
The school’s president, David Wilson said, according to a college statement:
“Morgan is so proud to call this son and daughter of the great City of Baltimore our own, and through their historic giving, the doors of higher education will most certainly be kept open for generations of aspiring leaders whose financial shortfalls may have kept them from realizing their academic dreams,”
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