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Covenant House Research Paper

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Many financiers these days come from privileged backgrounds. Finance is usually associated with the stock market, high pay, prestigious colleges, and something that only the middle and upper class can take advantage of. We rarely, if ever hear stories of many ambitious homeless people that succeed in the field of finance. It is indeed rare, but it is highly possible for them to succeed with the support of the community. This is why we, The Covenant House, are here to help teenagers get their life back on track to succeed in what they enjoy doing.

Chris Gardner (born February 9, 1954) is an investor, entrepreneur, speaker, stockbroker, and philanthropist. He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Thomas Turner and Bettye Gardner. He has an older half-sister and two sisters. His biological father was away in Louisiana and his stepfather was very abusive to him and his family. Although there was a lot of conflict at home, Chris’s mother was a never ending source of motivation and courage to Chris. He enlisted in the US Navy as a corpsman shortly after graduating high school. There he met Dr. Robert Ellis who gave Gardner a position as a research associate in San Francisco. Chris married Sherry Dyson on June 18, 1977 and became a father to Christopher Gardner Jr. …show more content…

He did not have any connections or degrees to help him get a well paying job although he was fascinated by finance. Chris realized that he had to start ground up from very low paying training programs at brokerages. He wanted custody of his son because he always wanted to be a good father to his kids. Although Gardner managed to get a spot on the Dean Witter Reynolds training program, the salary was not enough for him and his son. Gardner had to stay at temporary housing to sleep and put his son at a church shelter

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