Alumni Profile - Sean Hembrick, DDC '05
Sean Hembrick
St. Raymond’s High School for Boys, 2005
Binghamton University, B.A. in English and Sociology, 2009
Queens College, M.F.A in Creative Writing, 2012
“Being at DDC,…opened my eyes to the college experience and…wanting to pursue my dreams”
Sean grew up in East Harlem and learned about Double Discovery from a classmate, who was in the program. “He got me involved and the rest is history,” he recalls. Sean enrolled in the Talent Search program during his sophomore year.
He remembers being on the Columbia University campus for the first time. “[I was] kind of star struck, culture shock in a way…But, it also makes you think, ‘Hey, I could get in here.’ I could really strive to be at an Ivy League institution or anywhere else,” he remembers.
“Before DDC, I knew I wanted to go to college. However, I didn’t really have the resources to. Being at DDC changed this. It opened my eyes to the college experience and…wanting to pursue my dreams,” he says.
“Anyone should take up the opportunity to join DDC. I recommend it to anyone that is serious about furthering their academic career and going to college. At Columbia, I felt like a college student. We had access to the library, we got to use the gym, we pretty much were Columbia University students,” he recalls.
“Being a first-generation college student, DDC and Columbia University opened the doors to seeing college in a different light, [especially] as a young African American male from Harlem,” he adds.
Sean credits the college tours he attended for helping him select Binghamton University for college. “We went on a lot of different college tours and got exposed to what college life was like for real. I remember staying overnight at Colgate University with an actual student in the residential hall, laughing and talking about how college was fun and a rewarding experience,” he says.
He recalls the friendship developed with his Counselor Tony Clark. “He really helped me out a lot,” he remembers. “Tony was very straightforward with his male students. He would usually tell us, ‘Leave the females alone and focus on [your] work.’ That was…his favorite line,” Sean says. “It really helped me…to stay focused on…what I was trying to do academically and in my life,” he adds.
The 2005 graduate also has a message for his former counselor, “Thank you, Tony, for helping me during my high school career. You were like a father figure through those rough developmental years, and I greatly appreciated your words and guidance.”
He adds, “I owe all of DDC. This includes my counselors and tutors, right down to the staff. Without this supporting cast, I would have never been exposed to college, have gotten my degree, and furthermore, pursue a graduate and law degree.”
Today, Sean is an Alumni Admissions Recruiter for his alma mater Binghamton University and is currently working towards pursuing a J.D. in International Human Rights Law. This summer, he will be attending the American Bar Association’s Council on Legal Education Opportunity’s six-week Summer Law Program at the University of Mississippi School of Law.
By Lisa Herndon
Photo: Lisa Herndon