Preston M. Green Hall on Washington University's campus. Photo courtesy of Washington University.
By Talia Kaplan
St. Louis (KSDK) - An MBA student at Washington University was beaten and starved as a child, and then was homeless as a teen.
Michael McLaughlin has now turned his life around, but he hasn't forgotten where he came from. He's devoting his life to helping other children who are suffering, and hiking 2,500 miles to raise awareness.
Each step forward for McLaughlin is a step away from where he began. He was homeless just eleven years ago but, today he is working on his MBA at Washington University.
"When I was growing up I didn't know who my real father was. When my mother remarried, she and her new husband physically abused me and my sister for many years," said McLaughlin.
He was just 8-years-old when the beating began.
"I went sledding with a friend of mine and we both came back to my house and we had very wet pants and I gave him a clean pair of pants that belonged to my mother's husband then I went up to my room and was laying in my bed when my mother came in and had found out what had happened that I lent these pants without her permission. She flew into a rage and she took a lamp off of my dresser and she slammed it into my head and it knocked me unconscious," said McLaughlin.
His scar is a permanent reminder of his past but he says what is even more painful are the scars you can't see. He says his parents would also verbally abuse him and say things like "I wish you didn't exist."
"A lot of kids would get grounded from things like using the telephone or watching television but, my sister and I would get grounded from having food," said McLaughlin.
When McLaughlin was 16-years-old, the court system intervened. He moved out, but had nowhere to go. He says for years he lived in campgrounds, storage sheds, and in his car.
The 31-yearold has a master's degree in accounting, a CPA, and will soon have his MBA. But McLaughlin's lifelong goal is to help other abused children through "Hike 4 Kids."
This week he will start a 25,000 mile trek through the Appalachian and Ozark trails.
"Everything that has happened in my life, as bad as it has been has prepared me for this. In a way I have been preparing for this hike my whole life and I just didn't know it," said McLaughlin.
He is raising money and awareness for the Family Resource Center, a nonprofit organization that helps abused children, and The School for the Blind in Africa founded by Brooke James. She is also an MBA student at Washington University and is visually impaired.
"I have nothing but admiration for him. It's such an extreme way to do it but it's such a great showing of Mikes passion and how committed he is to it," said James.
"My hope is that at the end of the day by doing this hike there is at least one kid who goes on to lead an amazing life," said McLaughlin.
For more information, visit the Hike 4 Kids website.
You can also check out the "Hike 4 Kids" Facebook page.
KSDK