Donald Shandler lived in a cramped apartment behind his father’s candy store until he was 17 years old. He became increasingly aware of the painful differences that separated his family from others, and he yearned for a better life. Like many first-generation Americans, Shandler discovered that education would offer him a path forward. Follow him on his journey to “the other side of the street,” from failing out of college on his first attempt to finishing his career with a PhD from Ohio State University and becoming a senior university administrator.