Student goes from refuse to real estate

Published 2/12/98

After giving up on a college education more than 25 years ago, Point Park College student Paul Winston is working towards his third degree.

Winston's college days began after he graduated from Wilkinsburg High School and attended Chaney College to study business administration. A year later, Winston dropped out and went to Dean Institute of Technology in West Liberty to study electricity. He left that program 18 months later.

Winston landed a retail job at Kaufmann's, which he described as the "worst job" he's ever had. Although the work was fine, he said there wasn't enough money being made to satisfy himself.

In 1973, Winston was hired as a refuse collector by Browning-Ferris Industries, which was subcontracted by the city of Pittsburgh until 1976 when the city revoked its contract. Winston continued to work as a refuse collector, but this time it was for Pittsburgh.

For the next 12 years, Winston endured the daily grind of lifting almost 30,000 lbs a day until his body couldn't take any more, and he eventually had to go on disability.

"About 10 years ago, I felt my body deteriorate because I was out driving trucks and lifting heavy weights for the refuse collection," Winston said.

Knowing he had to take advantage of the educational opportunities around him, Winston went to Neville Island in 1991, where a branch of the Community College of Allegheny County North Campus is located.

While there Winston received a degree in heating and air conditioning technology and a building maintenance and technology degree, both of which he received in 1996.

Interested in learning the business side of the work place, Winston began taking business management classes in 1996 at both CCAC and Point Park.

After earning all the credits he could from CCAC, Winston continued his studies at Point Park full-time.

"About three or four semesters ago I saw an entry in the schedule book for a career development class. I thought this was a good blow-off course. I could get three easy credits and get off light," Winston said. "I really enjoyed the course and got a better idea of what direction I wanted to take with myself."

The class was taught by Mary Smith Peters, director of career development, and Judy Bolsinger, dean of part-time and accelerated programs. The class, Peters said, was a Business 395 job source course, which is open to all majors and targeted at graduating seniors.

A year later, Peters notified Winston of several internship opportunities in the field of property management, which he could take instead of having to attend two required classes that he would need to complete his capstone program.

He chose to take an internship.

"I liked property management because with property management I could incorporate all my degrees into that one field," Winston said.

With Peters' help, Winston arranged to have interviews at two real estate companies, LaVelle Real Estate and Garfield Jubilee. After several unsuccessful attempts at arranging an interview with Garfield Jubilee, Winston figured his best chances at an internship would be with LaVelle Real Estate. However, from the moment he stepped in the door for his interview, Winston began to reconsider Garfield Jubilee.

Several days later, he got the call.

"Finally Garfield Jubilee called for an interview, and I went there, and I was happy from when I first stepped in there," Winston said.

This taught Winston an important lesson of not turning away any available opportunities. "You can't turn down any supposedly open doors. You have to check them all out because you never know what's hot and what's not. What you think is hot might not be hot, as I found out," Winston said.

"Winston is one of several typical Point Park students," Peters said. "He is changing careers and has some tools he can use, and he wants to further his education. I'm very proud of him."

Winston started in October and since then he has performed several various duties. "I run a workshop over there and that deals with credit counseling, on how to repair your credit, money management, energy assistance and energy conservation," he said.

One of his most important duties is helping out people with their credit problems, which include setting up workshops that can be either an individual or group session. The workshops can last up to two hours.

"I have a template credit profile that has 61 items on it, and we go through it one by one identifying each area of a credit profile," Winston said. After helping out a person fill out a template, Winston helps them write two good faith letters. One goes to the creditor and one that goes to the credit bureau.

A good faith letter explains to the creditor why the person was unable to pay off his or her bills and tells the creditor how much he or she will be making in payments to the creditor until the debt is paid off, Winston said. While the letter to the credit bureau is similar, Winston said many people aren't aware of having to write a letter to the bureau once their debt is paid off.

Garfield Jubilee offered Winston a job, but he has decided to commit himself full-time to school and to eventually receive a Juris Doctorate at Duquesne University in real estate law.

Winston hopes to start his own business in property management. "I always felt deprived that I never got my degree," Winston said, hoping that other college students will learn from him. "Education is so important in this day and age."

Caption: Paul Winston hopes to own his own property management business one day.

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