Read the story and answer the questions below.
From the time he was small, Raoul had always wanted to be a doctor. Raoul loved to read books about medicine, watch movies, and TV shows that featured doctors, and as a young teenager he volunteered to work in a local hospital helping out the doctors and nurses. His greatest dream in life was to help people. Raoul did well in school, but he was never near the top of his class. When he asked his guidance counselors about the prospect of medical school, they always told him to keep working, keep volunteering, and stay focused.
When it came time for Raoul to take the standardized entrance exam for medical school, he was very nervous and didn’t sleep well that night. The poor sleep showed. Raoul’s test scores were not good. He took the test a second and even a third time. The results were no better. He applied to several medical schools and did very well in the interviews, but ultimately was turned down because of his academic record. Raoul would not be going to medical school.
For a while Raoul was crushed by this realization. Not be a doctor? He had planned for this career his whole life, and now it had vanished. Raoul felt like a failure. He was disappointed for many months. One day, by chance, he sat next to a guy named Jared on a train. Jared worked at a local nonprofit organization. Jared told Raoul about all of the ways his nonprofit was helping the local community. Maybe there are other ways to help people and make a positive impact on my community, Raoul thought. Perhaps he had found a way to realize his dream.