Charles Rose Jr.'s journey from his home on Grand Bahama to graduating from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC) with a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering started out with $3,000 in his pocket and lots of faith that he would get into and graduate from the university charging $30,000 in annual tuition fees.
"I went through a lot to go after my dreams," said the recent graduate. "But my story is about never giving up on your dreams, no matter what you're facing in life." It was a message 21-year-old Rose, a graduate speaker, shared with his peers as he graduated from The William States Lee College of Engineering.
In his commencement address, Rose, who graduated cum laude, spoke about how people thought he was crazy for leaving home to go to the United States without even the minimum tuition fees. He started classes not knowing if he would ever get the chance to finish. Rose said he pretty much stepped out on faith, as he was determined to not give up on his dreams.
"Everyone told me that the most logical thing was to start off at The College of The Bahamas or the University of the West Indies and then go on," he said. But his dreams were of attending UNCC.
"If people call us crazy, and if being crazy leads to being successful, then yes we are crazy," he told his fellow graduates.
On the final day that his tuition was due in his first semester, he came across a note under his dormitory door that said he had to pay that day or be out of the dorm room by midnight. He did not know how he would explain to his family that he had lost his dream. He still went to class that day; when he got out he checked his voicemail, revealing a message from his mother, Chassarie Bullard, telling him that he had received a $7,500 grant from the government. He didn't have the money yet, but his mother sent him a copy of the grant letter. He printed it out and took it to the student accounts department. He was allowed to remain in school. Rose said he laminated the disheartening note that he found under his door telling him to leave; he carries it in his wallet to this day as a reminder of the power of his faith.
"A lot of times people on the island cry 'We don't have any money', and a lot of the times we don't, but when God is on your side...God is bigger than anything," said Rose.
Rose applied for numerous scholarships and grants throughout his four years at UNCC. He received a total of $15,000 in scholarships and grants annually, including a scholarship from the Lyford Cay Foundation in his final year, but the generosity of approximately 30 individuals helped to pay the balance of his annual tuition.
At home, on Christmas break after his first semester, he did a television interview which aired on New Year's Eve during which he talked about his dreams and struggles and encouraged others to not give up on their dreams. People saw the interview and called in to support. Their contributions paid Rose's fees for the next semester. They continued to help him with the balance not covered by his scholarships and grants through to his graduation.
"Every semester I didn't know how I was going to come up with the funds to go back to school, but I kept having faith every semester. And whatever scholarships I received, whatever balance was left, these individuals would pretty much pay the balance."
Rose, who graduated with a 3.68 cumulative grade point average (GPA), said he believes his benefactors had faith in him because he had faith in himself and believed he would accomplish what he set out to do.
"I did my part...I kept up my grades. I think they saw that I was focused and determined to achieve my goals and wasn't looking at letting anything get in the way, and they wanted to help me do that."
Rose said had a burning desire to attend college since he was a young boy. He said he was about 7 years old when his mother laid a map out in front of him and his sister, Chardonae Rose, and told them to find The Bahamas on the map. He said they realized that it was just a little dot against the rest of the world.
"She told us that there was a whole world out there for us to explore and to never limit ourselves to only The Bahamas." The graduate said that lesson also served as an inspiration to him and his sister. She went on to study in Ecuador and speaks fluent Spanish. For the past six years, she has hosted Camp Espana, a Spanish summer camp on Grand Bahama.
Striving for excellence is nothing new to Rose, who graduated high school with a 3.82 cumulative GPA. The 2010 Jack Hayward High School graduate was valedictorian of his Wildcats class and gave the commencement address then, as well. His message to his peers then was to think of themselves as a rocket ship launching into space and to think of what's next. He encouraged them then to be ambitious and go after their dreams. He certainly went after his dreams.
His advice to school students is to take every assignment seriously, something he said he always did as it pays off in the long run.
"It's just like building a house or any type of infrastructure -- you always have to start from the foundation. And if your foundation is weak, then in the future, your potential for collapsing is great. The work that they may be doing now may not seem serious, but it really pays off in the long run, so I advise them to take everything seriously, and most of all keep the faith and never give up on their dreams."
As a youngster, Rose said he took all of his school assignments seriously.
"I loved math and science. I also liked creating things and was always designing and making models of buildings and even an entire shopping mall. At first I thought I would like to be an architect. A friend encouraged me to look into civil engineering. I was able to do some job shadowing with a professional engineer and I really liked it, so I decided that would be my major."
The UNCC graduate, who wants to become a licensed engineer, is presently engaged in a one-year engineering program at Blythe Construction in Charlotte to gain experience before returning home. He also has another goal in his sights -- he and his sister hope to open a scholarship and mentoring program in The Bahamas.
"We want to give Bahamian students an opportunity," he said. "Thank God for our mom and mentors who have been there for us, but we want to create a program from which a lot more students can benefit. We don't just want to give them money, we want to give them lifelong skills from which they can benefit to be successful and stay successful."
Rose plans to enroll in a master's program in the future, but is still undecided as to which area to specialize in.

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