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Curtis Aikens is from Conyers, Georgia (rural area).
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In the third grade he had a teachers conference.
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Teacher said ,he is a nice boy but he has a reading problem and needs to repeat third grade.
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Curtis decided to lie about not being able to read or write so people would not call him "dumb" or "stupid".
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He does not blame the school for not helping him but he is learning the skill to lie and not be questioned.
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"If you sound smart, people will think you are smart".
He watched TV /videos to get vocabulary to keep up with the scam. -
Heavy electives and light on academics for his schedule in high school.
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Star football player, student council member, and won a cooking competition.
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He got a scholarship for college. His family was happy. He was scared because he had to lie for four more years.
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Halfway through sophomore year (1.5 years ) he dropped out of college.
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He moved to California.
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He got a job at a grocery store but he got in trouble with his boss because he cannot read.
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He wanted to open his own produce ( fruits and vegetables) company.
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He would give blank checks to companies because he could not read the invoices.
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Curtis did not know that he had to lower his prices and he lost customers and his business failed.
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Curtis was traveling and could not read road signs or airport signs.
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Curtis saw a PSA for a program that helps people read with no judgment.
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He took literacy classes with Steve and Ginny. He felt happy to be honest about his problem.
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He does really well with the literacy program and now read a book a week.
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He goes back to Georgia and starts another produce company and eventually becomes a food colomist.
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He decided to be a celebrity and use his platform to reach out to the illiterate community.
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He called an old friend and confessed his past and the friend called news shows to share his story.
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Published his first cookbook.
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Curtis messed up on TV reading a telepromter and cried on National TV.
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People called the TV show looking for help with reading because of Curtis.