“Just Married” is scrawled across the ’56 Chevy’s rear window. Gilbert guns the engine, and off he and Susanette go on their weekend honeymoon in his parents’ car. The newlyweds cannot afford a car of their own.
Gilbert is a sophomore at the University of Florida (UF), and the couple will live on a shoestring budget while Gilbert pursues an engineering degree. He pedals a bike to campus, and Susanette rides to work with a neighbor.
Her secretarial job pays a paltry sum, but it has a perk: as a University employee, she can take a free college course each trimester. She eagerly applies and pays the required fee—an amount that would have bought a week’s worth of groceries.
Alas, she receives a letter from the registrar stating that her SAT scores and the business curriculum she followed in high school indicate that she would not be a successful college student. The rejection temporarily leaves her feeling like a dummy, but not for long. Being told no just makes Susanette determined to prove naysayers wrong.
