Alton Carter

Author of "The Boy Who Carried Bricks, Aging Out, The Boy Who Survived"

February 6, 2023

Alton Carter is a former foster child who became first person in his family to graduate from high school and college. Now the Career Exploration Coordinator at Oklahoma State University loves spending time with his family, fishing, art and serving students. Carter makes his home in Stillwater Oklahoma, with his wife, Kristin, and their 5 children, Kelton, Colin, Alliyan, Angilina, and Curtis.

Abandoned by his father, neglected by his mother, shuttled between foster homes and a boys ranch for most of his formative years, a young man refuses to succumb to the fate that the world says should be his. Born the second of five children to a woman who not once had a name to write in the blank space left for father on her children’s birth certificates, Alton Carter does not mince words as he describes a childhood full of violence and hunger and neglect. Early on, Alton decides he wants a “normal life”—even if that means standing up to abusive relatives and being teased by his siblings and cousins. Along the way, he keeps an eye out for those who might help lighten the load, never losing hope that such people exist. Read his story in "The Boy Who Carried Bricks, Aging Out, The Boy Who Survived". 

URL: https://library.okstate.edu/news/celebratingbooks/2023-honorees/alton-carter

Last Updated: 1 March 2023