From "Po' Hoe on Dope" to Ph.D.: Professor Elaine Richardson on the Tavis Smiley Radio Show

Tavis Smiley Radio Show
As a young girl growing up in a tough Cleveland neighborhood, Elaine Richardson fell in with the wrong crowd. She started skipping school, drinking and smoking, and eventually ended up leading a life of prostitution, addiction and incarceration. Then she literally got smart – and now she’s a professor at Ohio State University. In her memoir, “PHD to Ph.D.: How Education Saved My Life”, Richardson chronicles her journey from life on the streets to earning her doctorate in English and applied linguistics.