Yitang Zhang has an incredibly inspiring academic story of perseverance and passion in the face of adversity:

> After graduation, Zhang had a hard time finding an academic position...He managed to find a position as a lecturer after many years, at the University of New Hampshire, where he was hired by Kenneth Appel back in 1999. Prior to getting back to academia, he worked for several years as an accountant and a delivery worker for a New York City restaurant. He also worked in a motel in Kentucky and in a Subway sandwich shop.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yitang_Zhang

(UNH is ranked #108 in math nationwide.) I highly recommend that article in Quanta:

http://www.simonsfoundation.org/quanta/20130519-unheralded-m...