Online Companion: The Complete Student, Achieving Success in College and Beyond

Chapter 1: Laying the Groundwork

Case in Point: Max Cleland

There is no room for failure in the life of Max Cleland, former U.S. senator from Georgia. Cleland volunteered for duty in Vietnam in 1967 and rose to the rank of Captain. In 1968, he threw himself on a grenade to save his fellow servicemen and was grievously injured. Both of his legs and one arm were amputated. Cleland's autobiography, Strong at the Broken Places, unflinchingly discusses his road to recovery, as he came to terms, both physically and psychologically, with what had happened to him on the battlefield.

"Bitterness raged in me," Cleland wrote. "As I lay there alone, the futility of my life bore in on me. What was I living for? To get myself together every morning to go through the pain, anguish, and humiliation of therapy just to do it again the following day? Weekends were reserved for drinking and trying to forget. I wasn't living, I was existing." Cleland had to touch bottom before he could rise up. "I sank into a deep depression. In a deep wrenching of the soul, I lay in bed, convulsed with agonizing, gut-wracking sobs. I was bitter over the past. I was afraid of the future. And the torturous present seemed unbearable… I could live, or I could die. The choice was still up to me."

The choice that Max Cleland made was a testimony to the human spirit. He decided to dedicate his life to public service. At the age of 28, Cleland ran for the Georgia State Senate and became the youngest member of that body and its only Vietnam veteran. He wrote the state law that makes public facilities accessible to the elderly and handicapped. From the Georgia State Senate he went on to another important job-as the youngest-ever administrator of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. In this capacity, he managed the country's largest educational assistance program, the GI Bill, and the nation's largest health-care system, the VA Hospital program. Cleland was also responsible for the Vet Center counseling program. This innovative program, which helps veterans and their families deal with post-traumatic stress disorder and other problems associated with the trauma of war, now has over 200 locations throughout the nation.

After his work with Veterans Affairs, Cleland returned to Georgia politics. He was elected to three successive terms as the secretary of state of Georgia, and became the first state official ever to garner more than a million votes. In 1996, he was elected to the United States Senate, where he served for a term.