David

In the early spring of 2009 I suffered a fairly serious back injury, which put me out of work as medical bills accumulated. During my recovery I worried about my future and tried to take stock of my life and where it was going. I dropped out of high school in the 10th grade… that was in 1996. I have never been to school otherwise and had only recently received a GED the year before. I supported myself primarily through cabinet installation and fabrication and some seasonal security work with local concerts and festivals. With my back injured I couldn’t perform the normal construction work and standing or sitting for long periods of time prevented me from even the part time security work during the concert season. I was really stuck. Throughout my life there have been folks that told me I should go to school, get some certification, etc.; the idea was appealing, but for one reason or another I just didn’t. I did what I wanted to do, and now it appeared to amount to nothing. As I recovered from my injury I began to reevaluate the decision, and eventually applied for financial aid for the fall 2009 semester. I thought, “Well, I’ve done everything but what folks tell me to do, and here I am broke, jobless, and injured. I wonder how far I can get doing what they tell me, which is go to school.” I received a Pell grant and took out student loans to live off of… I also got a work-study job with the office of Student Life at the Eastview Campus.

It was the best decision I have ever made for myself. Now I am working at the campus and going to school. I am networking, meeting new people that share my passion for intellectual concepts like faith, freedom and empathy. With the encouragement from the Student Life staff I have created goals that range as far as studying abroad to earning an MA in philosophy, and maybe even a PhD. The most challenging aspect of this transition from construction worker to intellectual, with a 12 year gap in my education has been more personal than financial or time related. I never thought I was good enough to go to school… I’ve never been happier to be wrong!