Woman, 27, sues Lehigh University for $1.3million - because C+ she got in 2009 ruined her dream of career in counseling

A graduate of Lehigh University who attended the private Pennsylvania college for free because her father is a professor there is suing the school because she received a C+ in a class.



Megan Thode claims the poor grade prevented her from being eligible to become a professional counselor.



The 27-year-old is alleging breach of contract and sexual discrimination and is seeking $1.3 million in damages.

Lawsuit: Megan Elizabeth Thode, pictured with an unidentified child, is suing Lehigh University for a C+ she received

Damages: Megan, 27, claims the low grade prevented her from becoming a certified counselor

Thode was a student in the College of Education in 2009, when she was in her final year of a master's in counseling and human services. The program is offered in the College of Education.



She needed to earn a B in a fieldwork course in order to progress and finish her degree.



But she only received a C+ in the class, when her professor, Amanda Carr, gave her a score of zero for classroom participation.

The student tried unsuccessfully to contest the low mark.



A lawyer for Thode says the teacher was biased against the student because Thode was a proponent of gay and lesbian rights.



An attorney for Lehigh University has denied that claim, saying Carr has a close family member who is a lesbian and has counseled LGBT clients.



Family: Megan's father, Steven Thode (right), is a finance professor at Lehigh. His daughter attended graduate school tuition free

Program: Megan was pursuing a graduate degree at Lehigh University's College of Education

When she received the C+, Thode switched courses and instead pursued a master's degree in human development.



She now works as a drug-and-alcohol counselor.



She is seeking damages, saying it is the money she would have earned if she had completed her previous degree and had the opportunity to be a state-certified counselor.



Thode's father is Stephen Thode, a finance professor at Lehigh. She attended the university tuition free.

She says her professor and the director of the program conspired to prevent her from progressing with her degree because she had complained about an internship requirement for the program.



Her trial began on Monday in Northampton County.



Thode’s lawyer, Richard J. Orloski, is arguing that his client deserved a higher grade.



'She's literally lost a career,' Orloski said.



Attorneys for the university in Bethlehem, Penn. have called the lawsuit ridiculous.



'I think if your honor changed the grade, you'd be the first court in the history of jurisprudence to change an academic grade,' Lehigh University attorney Neil Hamburg told the judge presiding over the case.

