sChOoL!

Two years ago I decided I was finally ready for school. I began my college career in the summer of 2005 at the University of Utah. I moved up from St. George shortly after graduation. The first 3 years were bumpy. Only 2 out of the 6 semesters I attended during that time did I actually pass. The others I received failing grades or completely withdrew from my classes.

After a trying experience in November 2007, I ended up withdrawing, yet again, from all of my classes. I did not return for spring semester in 2008, and instead found my job in the Financial Aid Office after working as a temp for the UofU for several months. As I found my place in the professional field, I also found a genuine desire to receive an education.

As I began the process of getting things ready to return to school in the fall, I discovered that because of my poor academic performance I would not be allowed to return unless I met their requirements. Because I was admitted on the condition that I complete 2 science and 1 language class within the first 30 attempted hours and failed to meet that condition, I had to attend another college and then transfer the missing classes in order to be re-admitted.

Words cannot describe the turmoil I felt. Mustering the courage to return to school was enough of a challenge, but now having to go to Salt Lake Community College was even worse. It was a blow to my ego. Plain and simple. I struggled with the situation for several weeks, and finally swallowed my pride and began the process of getting admitted to SLCC. I fibbed to my family and friends about why I was going to SLCC rather than the U. I made up all sorts of excuses. I was so embarassed about having been kicked out of the U.

My first semester as a student at SLCC was in the fall of 2008. Since my GPA was so low, I wasn't eligible for federal aid, so I made monthly tuition payments. This was a humbling experience. I didn't miss a day of class and the effort I made was exponentially greater than if someone else had been making those payments. Seeing that money leave my account every month ensured my dedication to school.

I completed the 3 classes necessary for my re-admittance to the U and began taking classes again in the summer of 2008. My GPA at that time was a 1.67. I was still horrified to tell people the truth about my academic failure. Taking 2 classes, summer semester back at the U was a success. For the following fall semester I bumped my course load up to 3 classes, feeling confident I would succeed. The semester went well and even continued that way as I left the home I made with my boyfriend and stayed with a friend for a month as I figured out what to do with my relationship. I broke up with him near the end of October and moved into my own apartment in November. Within days of moving in I got terribly sick, and remained that way for the better part of the winter. With my poor health and freshly ended relationship, I found it increasingly difficult to focus on school, let alone work 40 hours a week. I completed one of the three classes and took incompletes in the other two. In my early years at the U, this would have been cause for withdrawing from my classes. This time, however, I powered through and made it happen. I finished the two classes from fall just before summer semester bagan, and ambitiously enrolled in 4 classes for summer. Pushing through this hard time in my life and finishing my classes made me feel confident that I could do anything.

I ended up getting married in March. I inherited a wonderful step son and a husband who absolutely adores me. Somehow that equated to mental chaos, making it a complete nightmare to somehow pull through my insane 12 credit (and 40 hour work week) summer semester. But, yet again, I managed to make it to the end of the semester with passing grades...better yet, two A's, and A-, and a B.

In the year I have been back at the U, I have raised my GPA from a 1.67 to a 2.57.


"In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity" Albert Einstein