St. Thomas: My First Choice For College Students

Besides graduating from college, being accepted into the Counseling program at NOVA Southeastern University was the greatest day of my life. I was on my way to a much greater success by working on my Master. Paying for college out of pocket was a struggle, but I understand that success comes with great sacrifices. However, I wouldn’t really call paying out of pocket for school a sacrifice, but rather an investment in my future and my family. My first semester went marvelous. I was motivated and enthusiastic about the courses. I must admit graduate school is much harder than I imagine, but I manage to make time for studying and ended making A’s in both of my classes, which I didn’t expect less than that. When the summer semester I arrived, I was as excited and motivated as my very first semester, aiming to make nothing less than an A grades. However, unexpectedly my world seemed to have turned upside down in a matter of time. My mother and I decided to take a week to go

Including loosing my grandparents who were my last bit of familial support in 2014, being sexually assaulted causing me to have to withdraw from several classes, being rushed to UF Health/Shands emergency room, and being admitted to Meridian, a psychiatric Behavioral Institute, for a period of time. After a few visits to the Counseling and Wellness Center, I learned that everyone goes through something but your reaction to your circumstances is what is the determinative factor of your strength and future success. I could easily use these negative situations as an excuse for my actions, which would only make my situation even worse. Or I could accept my wrong doings and keep fighting for the opportunity that was given to me in 2012 when I was admitted to the University of Florida. Attending the University of Florida is not a want of my it is a necessity, words cannot explain the endless opportunities I have been awarded while being a student here. As a child it seemed like a goal that will never be achieved considering my severe circumstances of poverty. The reason I continue to stress the importance of opportunity is because without the University of Florida I do not know if the doors will open again or where I will end. But I know right here and right now I have to fight for the last hope I have in me,

Initially, coming to Reynolds was not my original plan after graduating from Varina high school in 2015. At first, I wanted to continue my education at VCU and I did get accepted, but the money just was not right. When I realized that I did not have enough scholarships, grants, or money saved up to go VCU I had to make another decision, but I was in denial at the same time. VCU was my dream school growing up. Everything was just mapped out in my mind until my parents and I seen the tuition total to attend. I had no other choice, but to come to Reynolds. As I was debating on what was the best thing to do, my mom signed me up without telling me. When I found out I was filled up with a mix of emotion. I was scared, nervous, upset, and

As you know, I was one of your favorite students but I didn’t get to actually tell you my story. When my two sisters and I lost our mother to breast cancer, I was only seven years old. It seemed like immediately after her death my loving and grateful father remarried. I struggled with reality for years and I felt lost. By the time my twenty-first birthday came I was pregnant. I had little knowledge on anything. Honestly, I missed out on my mother’s reliance on God including her guidance. There were periods of hardship until I finally cleared my mind. I started to listen to my step-mother’s military ways and I took action. I started my education with my dreams in mind and enrolled at Parkland College.

My first semester of my first year at Glendon College is soon coming to an end with only two papers and one final exam left to write. As I reflect back on the semester, I recall telling myself at least once a week that I wanted to drop out of school, followed by many breakdowns, crying fits and calling defeat. The past few months, haven’t been at all easy for me, I have thought many times I wasn’t intelligent enough to be in university, I was disappointed with some of the grades I received and I was constantly engulfed in a swarm of stress. Despite all these tough times, I have had many good one’s as well, I have made new friends which are now integral to my everyday life and I have enhanced my knowledge to a new degree.

My decision to enroll at Grand Canyon University was in August when I turned 25 and felt I was not living up to my potential. I am currently a receptionist and I know I am too smart to be wasting my creative drive answering phones and running other employee’s errands. To reach my goals, I need higher education. I researched many online schools, but none stuck out quite like GCU did. I kept putting it off until I received an email about a scholarship only offered in November and I decided right then and there, it was time to go back to school.

In August of 2015, I started the next chapter of my life at Rogers State University in Claremore, Oklahoma. I heard numerous personal testimonies of what college is like and how I will have loads of homework. From these stories and personal testimonies, I decided that college was going to be extremely scary and brutally difficult. As my senior year in high school began, I had no plans of where I was going to go to college and how I was going to pay for it either. As my senior year went along, everything concerning my future plans at college played out the right way. I was accepted into the Honors Program at Rogers State University and the program paid for my education. Reflecting back on the thoughts I had about the college experience

In February 2012, my junior year of high school, my mom succumbed to breast cancer. During her fight with breast cancer and after her passing, I made sacrifices on behalf on my family. I wasn’t involved in afterschool programs because I was cooking, cleaning, doing laundry and grocery shopping while helping my dad take care of my younger brother. Throughout my junior and senior years in high school, college was one of the last things on my mind. However my family and friends helped me realize that grades nor finances were holding me back from attending college but I was holding myself back.

I took one judicial court class and I knew that my end goal was to become a judge and so I begin looking at law schools, LSAT’s, and the law path I would take after I obtained my bachelors. I also discovered at this time I could graduate early, with a full course load my spring semester I set my graduation date for December 18th, 2015 at 2pm. It, of course, had to be during this time that my grandmother found out she has lung cancer and my mom has liver cancer. I am again faced with taking on the weight of my family and the weight of my school work that will decide my future. Being away at school made this go around of family illness harder to take care of, I could no longer drive everyone to the doctor’s office and be there after they got out of surgery. I was in the middle of giving a speech while my grandmother was having a lung removed; it took careful effort to stay focused in class and on my studies. However, in the mist of all this chaos, I achieved the Dean’s list twice, got great remarks for my Resident Assistant duties and events, and I again proved to myself that times of trial can bring out the best I have to

Evaluating my last 2 years in this college, I have recognized that there is no one to fault but myself for the predicament that I am now in. I fell behind in my classes, did not get help dealing with stress, and did not take accountability for my actions. Although, I was under stressful and unfortunate circumstances- some of which were life-changing, I realize that I should have reached out for help.

While obtaining my undergraduate degree at Arizona State University, I underwent multiple personal and academic hardships. My grandmother from Iran became very ill during my final years of high school, and my family worked tirelessly for three years to bring her to America for better healthcare and quality of life. After finally getting her to America, however, she passed away in our home from a stroke during my sophomore year of undergrad. During the recent recession, my family underwent significant financial turmoil. I proceeded to work 50-60 hours a week as a pharmacy technician to fund my education. After my grandmother’s death, I resigned from my position as a pharmacy tech to focus on my family while doing my best to maintain adequate

“I wasn’t accepted?” I wondered out aloud as I opened the letter from my dream school. I thought I had everything I needed to reach the goal that I had set years ago. As I normally do, I began overthinking the situation and immediately had many questions. “Will a different college accept me?”, “Did I not accomplish enough in high school?”, “Were my SAT scores not high enough for their standards?” Everything felt open ended and clearly there was no one to get the answers from. The feeling of frustration grew quickly as I tried to figure out where or what went wrong. I began questioning everything. I know that I worked just as hard as everyone else, but the results were short of my goal. One question was at the top of my mind, should top

I graduated in 2012 from a small rural community before going on to the University of Kentucky with a full academic scholarship. I was full of excitement and wonder, believing I would do great things in a college environment. Unfortunately, only a week into the semester my stepfather passed away unexpectedly, leaving my mother home alone. Depressed and

Coming to one of the best schools in North Carolina seems like an easy decision, but in reality, it’s not. You leave friends behind that you thought were going to be around forever; however, I was not saddened because I believed they were true friends. The saddest part was the fact that I knew I was about to lose that sense of familiarity. I was about to be alone with people who cared nothing about me. This is when motivation is necessary. I not only used my motivation in an educational aspect, I used it to build myself into a healthier strong willed person. There will be so many times that you fall to the lowest parts of the abyss, but you have to be the one to gain the will power and determination to pull yourself out of that low point. Then, once you climb out of that abyss, you cannot stop at the surface; you have to find the nearest mountain and climb to the top. That is when you truly succeed. It’s not when you achieve your goal—it’s when you surpass what you did not think you could achieve.

Trying to work and help pay for funeral expenses, because my grandmother let the insurance lapse, was extremely difficult. I couldn’t take summer courses like I had planned. I was sure to use my grandfather as my motivation for the semester of Fall 2016, but everything hit me at once. Trying to be a big girl and stay busy, I ended up suffering from ER visits & panic attacks. I was given strong medication that kept me sedated. I was so determined, but I was rushing things to stay focused on school and ending up not doing so well.