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Creative Writing, with English Prof. Andre Dubus III, was Tariq Brathwaite鈥檚 favorite course. So when Dubus needed to reschedule a discussion session and move it to Zoom, Brathwaite didn鈥檛 want to miss it 鈥� even though it conflicted with his work schedule at LCB Senior Living in North Chelmsford, Massachusetts.

鈥淚 told everyone at work, 鈥業鈥檝e already done everything. I鈥檓 going to be in my car to do a class for an hour. I鈥檒l be right back,鈥欌�� says Brathwaite, who apologized to his classmates if his voice sounded funny when he logged on to Zoom.

鈥淗e said he鈥檇 been up since 2 in the morning, working one of his four jobs,鈥� Dubus recalls. 鈥淗ere he is, with three hours sleep, on his phone in his car, dispensing great insight and beauty to us all.鈥�

Dubus recounted the episode while receiving the Honors College鈥檚 2024 Jacqueline F. Moloney Founder Award, which recognizes a faculty member who demonstrates unwavering support for student success and lifelong learning. The award includes a scholarship for the honoree to give to a student; Dubus chose Brathwaite, 鈥渁 gifted writer with a work ethic that is deep and wide and will take him far.鈥�

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 expect it. I thank Andre dearly for that,鈥� says Brathwaite, an English major with a concentration in creative writing.

A first-generation college student from Lowell, Brathwaite remembers seeing the UMass Lowell (UML) campus as a child when his grandmother, Lorna, would take him grocery shopping at Market Basket.

鈥淪he kept saying, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e going to be here one day,鈥� and I was like, 鈥楻eally? With all these big kids?鈥� I was only 8 years old, and I didn鈥檛 know anything about college,鈥� he says.

Around that time, Brathwaite began drawing superheroes 鈥� and creating some of his own. As a youngster undergoing speech therapy, he found drawing the characters to be a helpful way to express himself.

鈥淚鈥檝e always liked the morality system of superheroes. It鈥檚 not just entertainment; it can teach you something,鈥� says Brathwaite, who began writing storylines for his characters while attending Greater Lowell Technical High School, where he focused on engineering.

Brathwaite enrolled at Middlesex Community College, with dreams of transferring to UML through the MassTransfer program. At MCC, English Prof. Tom Laughlin stoked his passion for creative writing by helping him see that 鈥渨riting stories is a way to connect people and bring them together around an idea.鈥�

Brathwaite was elated when he was accepted to UML 鈥� although his parents, Christopher and Angela, were worried about whether he could afford it.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 why I work four jobs,鈥� he told them. 鈥淚t鈥檚 good to see what I can do.鈥�

In addition to his part-time maintenance role at LBC, where he started as a volunteer in high school, Brathwaite works part-time at a local gym. He also tutors youngsters in English and helps out at his uncle鈥檚 bar. He learned his work ethic, he says, from his parents, who had to 鈥渂ust their butts to raise three kids.鈥�

Brathwaite鈥檚 goal is to become an English teacher, and he 鈥渃an鈥檛 wait鈥� to have his own classroom someday, perhaps at Greater Lowell Tech.

鈥淚 want to teach creative writing because everyone has a creative side, but I don鈥檛 really see that from this generation,鈥� says Brathwaite, who suspects that tech addiction may be a culprit. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to be a writer, but you can do something with your creativity.鈥�

To that end, Brathwaite looks forward to developing his superhero character (he鈥檚 keeping the identity secret for now) in stories that he writes in Creative Writing II with Dubus during his senior year.

鈥淚f my character could actually be published in Marvel one day, that would be kind of wild,鈥� Brathwaite says.