One day software engineer Patrick McConlogue was walking to work in New York City when he decided to make an unorthodox offer to a homeless man.
He approached Leo Grand, who lives on the streets, and gave him a
choice: $100, or a laptop and the opportunity to learn how to write
computer code. Along with the second choice McConlogue pledged to spend
an hour a day for two months teaching Grand a valuable job skill.
“I came to an immediate decision,’’ Grand told TODAY Monday. “The
hundred dollars will last you for a short time. Learning how to code
will last you for a lifetime.”
So McConlogue, 23, bought Grand, 37, a laptop and three textbooks,
and began teaching him the language of computers. It was a lifeline for
Grand, a computer lover who said he’s been sleeping in shelters for two
years since the rent at his former apartment shot up and he was evicted.
Grand has proven to be an apt student under McConlogue’s tutelage.
“The speed at which I’m going through these lessons is insane,’’
McConlogue told TODAY. “We barely cover things twice. His memory is
really, really good.”
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