The avg houshold income is ~50k, and over 20% of their residents are under the poverty line.
Yes, he skipped Econ recitations, but I think you're being almost absurdly reductionist for a fairly decent reflection on how someone ended up in a job they never expected. Not to mention the last sentence where he even states he feels "ridiculously privileged".
There are entire states with lower avg household incomes. 20% below the poverty line is also substantially lower than many rust belt cities (detroit metro: ~39%, flint: ~55%, gary: 48.5%).
Pieces like this are dangerous because they distract us from the often insurmountable challenges many children in america are born into
So it might be worth mentioning that this young man has a lot of advantages merely by being born in an average household in a first world country, and being located close enough to Princeton so he could talk to professors there, etc. That should not detract from his achievements, but maybe it can help put them in some kind of perspective.