Sangha of Auspicious Companions

Principal Refuses to Abandon Homeless Student, Despite It Costing His Job

When Rob Burnside learned that a homeless student named Landerius Hayes was sleeping in his car but could no longer legally attend his school due to a change of address, he went home that day and told his wife about the situation. The first words out of her mouth were, “Well, he can stay with us, if he needs to.” Together, they opened their home, eventually became Hayes’ legal guardians, and watched him walk across a graduation stage this past May. The decision cost Burnside his 31-year career in education — a price he accepted without hesitation: “What value can we put on the life of a young person?” What this story quietly reveals is that the most consequential choices people make are rarely complicated — they just require a willingness to let someone else matter more than personal cost. Hayes is now studying to become an aviation mechanic, and in the stands at his graduation sat the man he calls Pops, who gave up his job so a teenager could keep his future.

Be The Change

Think of someone in your life — perhaps a student, a neighbor, an elder, or a young person who may be quietly struggling — and ask yourself honestly: have you been “processing the paperwork” when you could be asking a deeper question? Today, reach out to that person and simply offer your presence and humanity.