From flipping burgers to graduating Harvard, this student's inspiring story received severe backlash
A young student is facing the wrath of Internet trolls after his heartfelt Facebook post documenting his journey from flipping burgers and scrubbing bathrooms to graduating Harvard went viral earlier this week. Surprisingly, the post received severe backlash from many commenting on everything from his looks to his circumstances. The post has since been removed from Facebook. However, screenshots of it posted by at least two Twitter users have been retweeted over 45,000 times and 32,000 times, respectively.
Sharing a picture of himself standing proudly with his diploma, Shannon Satonori Lytle wrote on Facebook how, in high school, he was “scoffed at” and told he would never make it into a top college.
"In high school, I flipped burgers at McDonald's so I could afford the privilege of taking the SAT. I fed and cared for my three baby siblings until they went to sleep and stayed up until 4am to do my homework… I stuck my laptop out of my window at night to steal my neighbour's wifi and finish my schoolwork," he wrote.
Mr Lytle added that he “scrubbed toilets, shelved books, and sold clothing” so he could remain in college and reach his goals.
On May 25, he wrote that he became the first member of his family to graduate from college.
According to Metro, Mr Lytle’s Facebook post was shared over 207,000 times before it was removed. He had received a flurry of congratulatory messages as well. However, he was surprisingly met with a barrage of negative comments on both Facebook and Twitter. On Reddit, at least two separate threads were filled with negative comments, with some even asking how poor he really was if he went to a private preparatory high school.
All of Mr Lytle's social media accounts have now been set to private.
“I'm reading comments about what poverty is and is supposed to look like. I respectfully ask you to stop,” writes Mr Lytle in a follow up public post on Facebook.
“This is the issue with society. Why are people tearing you down?! Why can't they just be happy for you or leave it alone? … the entire Mahoning Valley is beaming with pride for you. The others who disagree may sit and sip their coffee humbly,” writes Chynna Thompson on Facebook.
“‘Good Looking. Talented. And Ambitious.’ There will always be haters. But something tells me your real success in life - the chapters that will make your friends and family even more proud of you.... are still to come,” writes Julian James Wilde.
Sharing a picture of himself standing proudly with his diploma, Shannon Satonori Lytle wrote on Facebook how, in high school, he was “scoffed at” and told he would never make it into a top college.
"In high school, I flipped burgers at McDonald's so I could afford the privilege of taking the SAT. I fed and cared for my three baby siblings until they went to sleep and stayed up until 4am to do my homework… I stuck my laptop out of my window at night to steal my neighbour's wifi and finish my schoolwork," he wrote.
Mr Lytle added that he “scrubbed toilets, shelved books, and sold clothing” so he could remain in college and reach his goals.
On May 25, he wrote that he became the first member of his family to graduate from college.
This gave me goosebumps... wow this is amazing pic.twitter.com/cIn5gGEN1a
— FREDDY (@FreddyAmazin) May 27, 2017
According to Metro, Mr Lytle’s Facebook post was shared over 207,000 times before it was removed. He had received a flurry of congratulatory messages as well. However, he was surprisingly met with a barrage of negative comments on both Facebook and Twitter. On Reddit, at least two separate threads were filled with negative comments, with some even asking how poor he really was if he went to a private preparatory high school.
All of Mr Lytle's social media accounts have now been set to private.
“I'm reading comments about what poverty is and is supposed to look like. I respectfully ask you to stop,” writes Mr Lytle in a follow up public post on Facebook.
“This is the issue with society. Why are people tearing you down?! Why can't they just be happy for you or leave it alone? … the entire Mahoning Valley is beaming with pride for you. The others who disagree may sit and sip their coffee humbly,” writes Chynna Thompson on Facebook.
“‘Good Looking. Talented. And Ambitious.’ There will always be haters. But something tells me your real success in life - the chapters that will make your friends and family even more proud of you.... are still to come,” writes Julian James Wilde.
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