In his early 30s, John Gargano worked as a waiter at Union Square Cafe, where he served families hosting graduation parties for New York University students. He didn’t think he’d ever be one of them.Mr. Gargano, on the other hand, made a living as a drug dealer. It grew into a full-time company, and he was sentenced to 30 years in jail.
Mr. Gargano, 52, graduated from the university’s School of Professional Studies on Thursday and acted as the keynote speaker at the virtual ceremony, following a dramatic turn of events. He will begin a new job as general manager of Craft, the flagship restaurant of Crafted Hospitality, which is operated by chef and television personality Tom Colicchio, next month.But the pandemic nearly ruined Mr. Gargano’s comeback tale — from jail to early release by clemency, from community college to N.Y.U., from part-time waitress to restaurant manager.
He lost his restaurant job in April 2020, just like so many others. When he applied for unemployment compensation, he became entangled in a maze of red tape. He considered dropping out of New York University and taking a $15-an-hour job loading trucks at Fresh Direct.At the ceremony, he told his fellow students, “Overcoming these extreme experiences provided me with the courage to not allow my history to decide what I can do or who I can become.”
Mr. Gargano’s story of rebirth sent a message of optimism not only to students, but to the entire community, where cab drivers can’t find customers, restaurateurs can’t find jobs, and empty offices threaten Manhattan’s small-business owners, some of whom have closed permanently.Now, the pandemic appears to be waning, with Covid-19 cases falling sharply since April and nearly half of New Yorkers having been vaccinated. The economy is reacting across the board, with figures released on Thursday showing a downward trend in unemployment.
Mr. Gargano is also on the rise. Susan Greenbaum, dean of the School of Professional Studies, said, “He just seems fitting for now.”Mr. Gargano wore a tie and sat at a desk next to his bed in his clean, sparsely furnished studio apartment in the Bronx on Thursday morning. Behind him, a golden tassel symbolizing excellent academic achievement sat on a bench. He used FaceTime to speak to his mother and sister while watching the ceremony.He said, “I’ll probably watch this video 100 times.”
The speech had been meticulously prepared and pre-recorded. While live-streaming the event, Mr. Gargano seemed to be more concerned with receiving congratulatory messages than with the ceremony itself. However, he held back tears when asked what it meant to him to graduate.
Mr. Gargano worked as a waiter in high-end restaurants in New York City and Philadelphia from 1996 to 2001. He said that his life had been taken over by “a huge blur of drugs.” He started selling meth, ecstasy, and other drugs to support his habit.In 2004, he was found guilty of two counts of drug conspiracy and sentenced to a 30-year sentence — 20 years in prison and 10 years on supervised release — as a result of strict mandatory minimum sentencing provisions.
