How Did James Garfield Pay for School?

David Senra says James Garfield paid for school by working as a janitor after he could not afford tuition. He convinced the school to trade labor for his education, and he changed from a rough canal man into a passionate, determined student.

He swept floors, hauled wood, and made fires, and he never tried to hide his poverty from the other students. Each morning he left the first lecture early, walked to the tower, and rang the school's enormous bell. He wrote that his tread was firm and free. He soon realized he was an extraordinary, talented student, and the more he learned, the more ambitious he became. In his diary he wrote that the ice was broken, that he was resolved to make a mark in the world, and that some of the slumbering thunder in his soul would come out. His day began at 5 a.m. and ran through studying, classes, work, and more studying until just before midnight.

No one worked harder. When someone came close, Garfield took it as a personal challenge. If he began to flag while mastering a subject, the thought that some other fellow in the class would probably master it pushed him to further effort.