NEWTON, Mass. – Boston College junior Max German said it was a surreal moment. It was the day Boston College president William P. Leahy called him on his personal cell phone.

“I was on Zoom for a class and I got this call from an unknown number,” said German, a native of Shrewsbury. “This very calm voice comes over the line and says ‘Congratulations. You won.’ It was Father Leahy.”

German quickly turned off his Zoom camera and placed his microphone on mute.

“I was trying to make sense of it. There’s all this myth about Father Leahy. He’s been president at BC for like… forever. I was completely distracted. Why was he calling me?”

Leahy was on the phone to congratulate him for being named a 2021 Truman Scholar by the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation. The prestigious national award supports undergraduates who are committed to public service leadership with a $30,000 scholarship.

But it wasn’t this impromptu phone call that put German in a surreal mood — nor was it the money. It was the fact that German was even a student at all. Just three years prior, he was at the bottom of a liquor bottle.

“I was in school,” German said. “I was in community college at Quinsigamond Community College. I went for a semester, and I was working at a restaurant. I had an internship. With all that, I was pretty busy. My drinking was kind of progressing, and I just couldn’t handle it anymore.”

German is an alcoholic, a disease he says runs in his family. It took a hold on his life.

“It was tough because I was feeling isolated,” he said. “I was going to community college and just living at home and living this kind of busy life and I wasn’t taking a whole lot of time for myself. I was running around and drinking became the way of dealing with all that. Coping with all the stress.”

He soon dropped out of school. He lost his internship and his job.

“I wouldn’t be drinking every day, but when I would drink, I would drink a lot at once,” said German. “It just got to this point where I didn’t know who I was. My identity was kind of shattered at that point,” he said.

German was an unemployed college dropout with no place to go. He turned to a local 12-step program for guidance.

“What got me on the path to good health was just asking for help,” he said. “I just realized I couldn’t do this alone.”

It took German about a year to get his footing. When he first went to rehab, he was physically addicted. German relapsed a few times along the way to recovery, but he was able to keep going back to rehab and his new friends were able to help him back on track when he slipped. 

“They didn’t give up on me,” he said. “They were people who understood what I was going through and beyond every age difference or whatever difference you want to throw in, there was this community and the understanding that we all had that same problem. I credit them for helping me.”

While he worked on his sobriety, German got a job as a laborer laying tile at various colleges.

“I remember going to Wellesley College,” he said. “I remember walking through one of these buildings with a showcase of faculty publications… all these academic books. I remember wondering if I could ever get to this place. This seemed so out of my reach.”

While trying to gain his sobriety, returning to school seemed like a pipedream. But German continued to work and eventually returned to Quinsigamond Community College to earn his associate’s degree. He then transferred to Boston College in 2019 and is set to receive his political science degree in December. 

“You know the first day that I got into BC, I was walking through the hall and I stopped and I looked over to my right,” he said. “There was [another] showcase with faculty publications… That’s when I felt my life come full circle. I realize how grateful I am to have this second chance.”

German decided to use his second chance for public service. During the same year he transferred to BC, he was elected as a Shrewsbury Town Meeting member as a Precinct 8 Representative. He serves as one of 30 members representing the constituents of his area.

Max German on the campaign trail. Courtesy photo.

“Town government has the most impact on people’s lives,” he said. “From trash removal, to kids riding the bus to school, clean water, taxes — it all revolves around town government.”

Along with his hometown political experience, German has been exposed to the political scene at the state level in Boston. Since February, he has been interning at the Massachusetts AFL-CIO labor union where he was able to lobby state labor bills. He is also interested in pursuing a law career. 

“I’ve definitely seen the power of the law to help and change lives for the better,” he said. “I hope to continue on in this field of economic justice and union organizing to make a difference.”

German continues to use his story and experience to help other young people overcome their alcoholism.

“It helps me as much as it helps them,” German said. “I’m still one of the youngest people in the room, so whenever a new young person comes in, I know how to help. I help them navigate friends. I help them navigate going back to school or how to talk to their parents.”

Despite his recent good fortune, German knows he is still a recovering alcoholic who must continue to focus on his 12-step program.

“I just stay with my routine and my program, and I must continue talking with other people that are struggling,” German said. “I’ve got these tools and habits that are a part of my life now. It’s kind of second nature and they’ve been working for me, so I’m going to keep doing them.”