North Philadelphia native aims to change lives during his experience at Temple University
George Lane
By Wakisha Bailey
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PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (KYW) — Temple University is welcoming its largest freshman class yet. One of the incoming students, a North Philadelphia native and Gates Scholar, hopes to change lives without leaving his neighborhood.
“It’s common to see people say they want to fight for change, and they end up leaving and giving up on the community, and that is something I really don’t want to do,” George Lane said.
Lane has always had his eyes set on staying close to home when it came to choosing a college.
“Being from North Philly, that’s as good as it gets to me,” Lane said. “If you ask me, it’s the best neighborhood in Philly.”
The neighborhood is home to Temple University, an R1 school ranked in the top 4% for research – something close to Lane’s heart.
“My dream job is – I want to be an oncologist, a cancer research doctor,” he said. “Fox Chase Center is one of the best centers in the country.”
Lane is entering the school’s nursing program. His dreams were inspired by his two late brothers, one who died from desmoplastic sarcoma, a rare cancer, and the other from gun violence.
“A lot of people say I’m a reincarnation of both of them,” Lane said.
His advocacy work, a simple project his freshman year called Enough Is Enough, soon became a school-wide movement. It caught the attention of the mayor’s office and landed him an internship with Councilmember Isaiah Thomas. But the biggest payoff was a Gates Scholarship. Lane is one of two people in his class to receive the prestigious honor, covering all costs to Temple University.
“Being able to go to school financial-burden free,” he said, “I don’t have to put stress on my family.”
The first in his family to attend college, Lane passed on Ivy League and prestigious schools like Morehouse, University of Pennsylvania, Harvard, Columbia and Emory. Lane is grounded in his Islamic faith, family and community. These next four years, he’s focused on giving back to the same community that poured into him.
“Temple is like a second place to home,” he said. “I really wanted to stay and show that you don’t have to leave Philly in order to be successful.”
Lane is one of 6,000 students joining the Temple Owl family this year. He hopes to eventually attend medical school and work at Fox Chase Cancer Center, but for now, he’s focused on moving into his dorm.
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