Meet Samuel Taylor, '06

Computer specialist survives civil war in Liberia to fulfill his academic dream

Samuel Taylor was a boy suddenly dispatched to do a man’s job when his dream of completing college on a scholarship was shattered after his father’s untimely death.

“My dad was a single parent, and his death left me responsible for my younger siblings,” recalled Taylor. “The chance of using the University of Liberia scholarship I had been awarded was lost.”
 
Taylor soldiered on, eventually developing a successful career as a computer consultant and ultimately, CEO of his country’s largest computer firm. But against the backdrop of an unstable Liberian political environment and a full-scale civil war, Taylor lost everything: his home, his car, his business and his financial assets.

“I rebuilt my company, only to lose everything again during a second full-scale war in 1996. By this time I had my own family and we were expecting our second child,” he said. “We fled Liberia to the United States with the clothes on our backs.”

Once settled in the U.S., Taylor realized that in order to attain financial stability for his family, he would have to earn a college degree.

“After thorough research, I realized that Thomas Edison State College provided me the best opportunity to achieve my plan,” he said.

That plan is coming to fruition. Taylor earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in computer information systems in 2006.

“My degree has opened up a world of opportunity that had once been closed,” enthused Taylor.