Lynner goes from dropout to doctoral candidate

LYNN – Shaun O?Grady is earning a doctorate degree at the University of California Berkeley, but the journey he took to academic success began when he dropped out of Classical High School.The son of a power plant engineer and a stay-at-home mom had been a Lynn transplant from Weymouth for several years when he decided in his sophomore year to quit school.?I figure I wasn?t going to college, and I went to work for Papa Gino?s,” O?Grady said.That was in 2000, and when the Sept. 11 attacks occurred a year later, O?Grady started to think about his future and how active a role he planned to play in it.?I said, ?I?m doing nothing with my life,?” he recalled.The mounting loss of life among U.S. troops that occurred following American intervention in Afghanistan, and then Iraq, motivated O?Grady to consider joining the Marine Corps. His decision to drop out haunted him when recruiters told him to delay his enlistment until he could earn a GED diploma or finish high school.He followed through on that advice and enlisted in the Marines in 2004, quickly adapting to the rules and regimented life of a Marine.?I loved the discipline and being part of a group of people really good at their jobs,” he said.He served in Iraq for 14 months in 2006 and 2007 serving as a close air support spotter for Marine units. He spent part of his second tour of duty around Ramadi – an Iraqi city that O?Grady said is now in the hands of Islamic State fighters.Finishing active duty service placed O?Grady at the same crossroads he found himself in 2000: He had to plot the next course for his life and his first choice was to start working as a carpenter and set his sights on becoming a firefighter.To boost his chances at getting picked by a fire department, O?Grady signed up for an emergency medical technician course at North Shore Community College. He needed to take another course to obtain financial aid and enrolled in 2009 in a philosophy class. The course awakened a passion for academics slumbering inside O?Grady.?It was mind-blowingly cool,” he said.Two of his NSCC professors urged him to enroll full-time in college and, armed with GI Bill educational benefits, he enrolled in the University of Massachusetts Boston in 2011 even as he rounded off a four-year-long obligation to serve in the Marine Corps Reserve.He pursued a psychology degree, expanding his class work with research opportunities that began with studies on prison inmate behavior and led him to an interest in infant development.?It was a different world for me from cleaning a weapon to hanging out with babies,” he said.O?Grady?s extracurricular work took him into South Boston where he served as a community organizer. UMass administrators floored him prior to graduation last year by awarding the one-time high school dropout with the John F. Kennedy Award for Academic Excellence – the university?s highest honor for a graduating senior.?It was the capstone of my time as UMass. I was blown away,” he said.With support from his wife, Flora Reyes-Jimenez, O?Grady enrolled in University of California Berkeley and started doctorate work last fall. The couple are expecting their first child in July.In an interview with UMass? alumni magazine, O?Grady called his decision 15 years ago to leave school “a big mistake,” but on Wednesday he said his life experiences have taught him that America is truly a place where second chances abound.?If you make a mistake, you can redeem yourself – if you are willing to work for it,” he said.