Overcoming Adversity

Facing adversity, we often look for an act of serendipity to cure strife. While certainly welcome, the feelings that come with facing and overcoming adversity, are wonderfully unique and its effects are residual. Whether familial, financial or educational, my ability to face and overcome any obstacle has only strengthened my resolve and made more confident that no matter what, I will be successful.
During our first year living in North Carolina presented a major obstacle: we could not afford day care for our youngest son at the time but we both needed to work. Working second shift, I was able to get the older two kids off to school in the morning, spend time with the youngest during the day, pick the older kids up from school before going to work, come home at 1am, wake up with the youngest for feedings at night, and wake up at 530a to start anew. Effective and exhausting, this plan worked well until going back to school, in the Spring semester of 2016.

Increasing work hours would be necessary to get my youngest in day care and myself into college.

17 years removed from academia, I was concerned how to balance everything. Working 50 plus hours, school full-time, and familial obligations were often at odds with each other. However, I was determined to get it all done and be successful in all fronts. Whether it was doing homework at work, writing papers at night (while taking breaks to get my youngest back to sleep), basketball and dance recitals on the weekends, finding some semblance of alone time with my wife, or taking an extra shift to help a co-worker out of a jam, I made it work. Those nights of 3-hour sleep were well worth it, my GPA was a 4.0 (the highest of my

life).
Despite any current success, there will be more difficult challenges ahead. While life is full of those seemingly out of nowhere surprises, I have the confidence to face them head on and overcome. Because of this, I believe I am the ideal C-STEP student. Given the opportunity, I would demonstrate the ability to not only overcome personal obstacles but help those around me overcome theirs; whether that’s fellow students, family and friends, my patients once I become a nurse, or anyone else in the community. In choosing me to be a part of this program, you will not only get a student who excels in the classroom but outside. Someone, even after graduating will give back to the school and community. The true meaning of a tar heel.