COLLEGE NEWS

Monmouth University student beats odds, sets out abroad

Amanda Oglesby
@OglesbyAPP

WEST LONG BRANCH – Early in life Miguel Nunez Jr.'s odds were set against his future success. He has been homeless, lived in poverty, and was raised in a single-parent household.

Miguel Nunez went to Asbury Park High School, founded its debate team, and is the first in his family to graduate from college. After he graduates from Monmouth U next week, Nunez is about to start the next chapter in his life, where he will teach English in Japan. He is shown holding a photo of himself as a child during an interview in Wilson Hall on the West Long Branch campus Wednesday, May 14, 2015. ASB 0514 West Long Branch Monmouth U Nunez MUNUNEZ0514B WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ STAFF PHOTO BY THOMAS P. COSTELLO

Yet none of that gets in his way.

The 21-year-old Asbury Park man graduated from Monmouth University this week — the first in his family to graduate college — with a degree in political science and a minor in Asian studies. In August, he will take his first airplane flight and move to Yokohama, Japan, to teach English in Tokyo.

From the beginning, life was a struggle for Nunez. He was born premature and spent three months on life support, he said. His single mother was strict about homework, Nunez said.

Those were just the beginnings of his obstacles.

"Our house burned down the day after my sixth birthday," Nunez recalled.

He and his mother were homeless for months afterward. They slept in motels and ate inexpensive fast food, he said.

In fourth grade, Nunez and his mother moved to Asbury Park, a city where he later met a group of mentors and teachers who helped prepare him for college.

Miguel Nunez went to Asbury Park High School, founded its debate team, and is the first in his family to graduate from college. After he graduates from Monmouth U next week, Nunez is about to start the next chapter in his life, where he will teach English in Japan. He is shown during an interview in Wilson Hall on the West Long Branch campus Wednesday, May 14, 2015. ASB 0514 West Long Branch Monmouth U Nunez MUNUNEZ0514A WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ STAFF PHOTO BY THOMAS P. COSTELLO

It was those teachers and counselors at Asbury Park High School who introduced Nunez to Monmouth University and helped him recreate similar academic activities at his high school. Their inspiration helped him to launch the high school's first debate team.

"I guess that (the debate team) was the first really cool thing I saw at Monmouth U.," Nunez recalled. "I wanted more academic focus for the (Asbury Park) school."

Project BAM, a program that connects Big Brothers Big Sisters of Monmouth County with Asbury Park High School and Monmouth University, helped support the debate team, Nunez said. More than four years after the launch, Asbury's team still exists and is coached by Monmouth University students.

Like in his debates, Nunez brings determination to life's obstacles.

"It's your job to overcome it," he said. "Stay strong and stay focused... You have to have that drive and willingness."

Amanda Oglesby: 732-557-5701; aoglesby@GannettNJ.com