Tom Moore says he's living proof that you shouldn't let other people bring you down.
The 46-year-old Pleasantville resident grew up in a single-parent household in the projects of Atlantic City and had "all of the trappings of a negative upbringing." However, his mother, the late Rose Moore, constantly encouraged him to achieve.
Moore said that despite the Atlantic City public school system labeling him "learning disabled," putting him in special education classes and telling him to lower his career expectations, he listened to his mother, who told him that he could do whatever he put his mind to. Moore eventually fought his way out of special ed so that by the time he was a sophomore at Atlantic City High School, he was in mainstream classes.
Moore, a minister at an Atlantic City church, earned two college degrees, an associate in criminal justice from Atlantic Cape Community College and a bachelor's in liberal arts from Thomas Edison University. He works as an inspector for the Casino Control Commission, and he routinely shares his story with area students and churches.
"I remember being pulled out of a class in high school by a teacher, and I was told that I would waste my life pursuing the career I wanted," Moore said. "The day I got my cap and gown from ACCC, I started crying, realizing what a lie that was. I thought, ‘How many kids were told this?' If you have a dream and you feel the desire to do something, do it regardless of what limitations may be placed on you."
Short storiesNearly 200 fishermen braved strong winds and surf during the Jersey Shore Striper Tournament earlier this month. Local fishermen competed in the three-day tournament on the back bays from Long Beach Island to the Delaware Bay from Nov. 5 to 7. Upper Township's Joe Krajicek won the $2,000 grand prize for his 38.8-pound, 46-inch striped bass. Other local winners include Ocean View's Tom Breazeale and John Mazurie Jr. and Ocean City's Matt Schad. ... 2008 Bridgeton High School graduate Steven Lane Jr. recently was awarded a $500 scholarship by the Omega Psi Phi fraternity's Beta Iota Iota chapter of Cumberland County. The money will go toward Lane's studies at Delaware State University. Lane, a junior mass communications major, played football and ran track in high school, and founded a magazine for college students, "ByYou," while at Delaware State.
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