Rehan Staton, a 27-year-old Maryland resident, is gaining national attention as he prepares to graduate from Harvard Law School this year after years of working as a garbage collector. As a way to give back to other support staff, he recently co-founded the non-profit The Reciprocity Effect.
Staton’s education suffered as a result of his family’s financial and emotional struggles after his mother abandoned them. He was not accepted into any college, so he decided to work at Bates Trucking & Trash Removal in Bladensburg, where his father and older brother were also employed. That’s when the thought of going to college came back to him.
“A lot of the folks at the sanitation company actually started referring to me as ‘smart’ and not a lot of folks have done that before,” Staton told Fox News. “They essentially said you should go to school.”
Rehan Staton was initially hesitant to pursue higher education, but with the assistance of his boss, he was accepted to Bowie State University. He then went on to major in history at the University of Maryland, College Park.
He took out loans and continued to work as a janitor while in college to pay for his education. He heard numerous stories from his coworkers who had previously been incarcerated at his job. It prompted him to consider the law and the justice system, as well as the possibility of attending law school.
He was eventually accepted to Harvard. His remarkable story then made national headlines, catching the attention of media mogul Tyler Perry, who personally called him and offered to help him pay for his law school education.
Rehan Staton started law school in August 2020. Since then, he has been making his mark in the field. He co-founded The Reciprocity Effect, a non-profit organization that helps raise funds and provide financial relief to those who work in janitorial services. The organization is currently partnered with Harvard and he hopes to add more schools in the future.
“The nature of reciprocity would simply make sure everybody wins,” he said. “The support staff are happier. That would make us happier, and then that would give them a better work product. That would give us a better work product.”
Moreover, Staton considers to work as a corporate attorney with a focus on sports law.