Smullin 306
Raised by a single mom, we didn’t have the funds to send me directly to college after high school; unaware of the financial aid that would’ve been available to me, I went into the military to pay for college.
After completing my time in the military, I, like many other veterans, decided to take classes toward a career with law enforcement. It was with the help of a professor in a criminal law class that I realized that my future was down a very different path. I began to take classes in finance and economics at the local university. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to obtain education benefits after completing my service, so I worked my way through college in the gaming industry.
With the help and guidance of one of my finance professors, I realized that I wanted to go to graduate school with teaching as the endgame. To this day, I value the guidance I received from these professors ever so much—who knows where I would be without them—and I very much endeavor to support and guide students in that same way. It is this goal that drives my approach to my role as educator and mentor.
As a first-generation college graduate, there was no predetermined path for me—no high-level connections that would help ensure my success. It has been a long winding road to get to where I am at, and I am so grateful to be in a position to help provide students with the guidance and direction as they both enter into—and make their way out of—the college experience.
