In this book, Freeman Hbrabowski connects the civil rights struggles in the 1960s with the current struggle to help all students, especially African Americans, women, and other minorities, to be successful in college and careers, especially STEM careers. He talks of overcoming attitudes and teaching ...more
I decided to check out this book after Dr. Hrabowski came to my campus to speak at a convocation. I found his talk engaging, and I found Dr. Hrabowski's energy uplifting. I definitely took copious amounts of notes around the Meyerhoff Program that he established at UNMC.
The first section, on the children's crusade, reminded me of "At the dark end of the street" by MacGuire, because it included a lot about the strategy involved in the protests of the Civil Rights movement. I had no idea that MLK jr specifically asked for children to march and protest in order to kee ...more
Dr. Hrabowski has had an interesting life. In this book he chronicles his experiences as a child, taking part and being arrested for five days as a member of the Children’s Crusade, a part of the Civil Rights Movement during the 60s, to his years in college. He reflects on how these experiences shap ...more
I received this book as an Early Review Book from Library Thing. "Holding Fast to Dreams" starts out with the author's intimate experiences with the Civil Rights Crusade during his childhood. Building on his own experiences with prejudice and low expectations, he leads us through his formative years ...more
At first when I finished Holding Fast to Dreams I felt a sense of braggadocio. I had to think about it. I believe this is mostly because I was expecting something more autobiographical.
While the book does contain some autobiographic background. The focus is on Hrabowski's accomplishments. Ultimately ...more
Full Disclosure: I won this book in a GoodReads Giveaway.
Dr. Hrabowski grew up in segregated Alabama and became the president of U. Maryland - Baltimore County and he is all about encouraging people to succeed in STEM. He has a phenomenal ability to pull out those little moments in teaching (and li ...more
I am the girl who struggled through math and science all through school and eventually left college "because I just couldn't pass Algebra." I learned so many things about why that is most likely the case and how to help my future children and the future generation(s) to ex ...more
I did not who this person was before I received a copy through good reads. He has powerful story to tell of growing in Birmingham Al. While the first details his journey through academics. The second part details the efforts to increase achievement in stem subjects. And the process it took. His mess ...more