Growing up in Toledo’s public housing, Tom Seeman had no idea that one day he would become an Ivy League graduate, a successful businessman, or the author of a book about how he got there.
He hopes readers of his upcoming book, Animals I Want To See, will take inspiration from his story and use it to open up a world of possibilities in their lives.
He credits much of his success to his mother, Virginia, to whom the book is dedicated.
“I had a lot of help along the way. A great mom, to start, who made all the difference in the world,” Mr. Seeman said.
Ms. Seeman, 92, has lived an extraordinary life of her own, albeit in a different way.
A gifted artist and seamstress described as having an “endless well of calm,” she spoke matter-of-factly about the sacrifices she made in caring for her 12 children.
“When you’re younger, and you have a lot to do every day, you just get up and do it,” Ms. Seeman said. “You have to have a routine, and you have to stick with it.”
Before her children worked to find their own success, she went above and beyond in a “remarkable” way to prepare them for it, according to her son.
“She didn’t just make cookies. She’d make these designer pinwheel cookies,” Mr. Seeman said. “Or she’d make noodles for soup. She didn’t just buy noodles. She’d make handmade noodles for the soup. For 14 people.”
“As long as you had flour and eggs,” Ms. Seeman said.
Children growing up in Toledo’s public housing don’t often get the same opportunities as everyone else, but Ms. Seeman focused on her children’s education to give them a fighting chance.
“My mom had a magical way of getting us the opportunity to go to these Catholic schools for free, or in return for our work,” he said. “So we went to St. Vincent de Paul without my mom paying. We were able to work for it.”
Mr. Seeman’s mother didn’t expect her son, or any of her 12 children, to make it as far as they did.
“I felt bad because I couldn’t financially help them,” she said. “But I always told them to go for it.”
And they did. After graduating from St. Francis, Mr. Seeman got accepted to Yale University. Later, his younger sister Susie followed in his footsteps and went to Cornell University.
Though many of his classmates at Yale came from wealthier backgrounds, he was surprised at how much kindness they showed him, he said.
Even though he showed up at Yale with a perfect entrance exam score, the new environment was an adjustment.
“Coming home for the summer, all my friends at Yale had all these possibilities of what they could do,” Mr. Seeman said. “They could take a job with their dad’s friend’s company, and I came back to the projects in Toledo working at a car factory.”
He recalled his roommate’s parents’ shock after he graduated from Yale summa cum laude, the highest honor.
“They just remembered me from freshman year when I showed up as this ragtag kid,” Mr. Seeman said. “And you just wouldn’t have anticipated that. Looking from the outside doesn’t tell the whole story.”
Mr. Seeman will be the first to say that he couldn’t have done it by himself. Throughout his life, he said, small moments of kindness from strangers had a huge impact on his life. Now, he tries to pay it forward with one act of kindness every day.
“They all add up to something big. You could do a giant kindness, like give someone a job,” he said. “But you can also do small kindnesses along the way that add up to a life.”
First Published April 29, 2024, 10:30 a.m.
