For four years, four or five days a week, Shellman Washington III of Chester, with help from his mom, went on a college drive, taking his twin daughters to and from Neumann University in Aston. It was a learning experience for everyone, writes Susan Snyder for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The daughters, who didn’t have the means to drive themselves, could have lived on campus, tripling their college debt. So Washington made a choice.
“I wanted them to have a better life than I did,” said Washington, 66, born and raised in Chester. “I had a rough life.”
It was a sacrifice he was happy to make.
“They saved my life,” he said. “That was God’s way of getting me out of where I was. And he didn’t just give me one; he gave me two.”
Through it all, he shared his daughter’s educational journey, which included about 8,400 miles of driving over four years.
Davay and Da’Veigh Washington, 22-year-old twins, graduated in May with degrees in business administration. They are equally grateful for their dad’s support.
“Compared to my other friends and their parents, I feel very lucky because a lot of people don’t have, like, my dad,” Davay said.
Read more about the Washington family’s inspiring journey and the father who went the extra mile in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Editor’s Note: This post was initially published on DELCO.Today in June 2025.
