The Magic of Never Giving Up

Sometimes, we learn as much from our students as they learn from LTU’s industry-savvy professors. Here is the story of one student who never gave up—in spite of significant challenges—on the road to a degree.

Though Carl Durden’s parents were supportive, they didn’t have the experience of attending college, let alone graduating from high school. Carl also wasn’t surrounded by a peer group intent on furthering their education. In fact, as far as he was concerned, his peers were headed in the wrong direction.

Which meant—Carl had to navigate the daunting process of college admissions on his own.

He attended orientation at a public university in 2009 but felt overwhelmed, choosing to enroll in a skilled trades program through Focus Hope instead. But the program wasn’t challenging enough for him and the following year he decided to give school another shot—this time choosing LTU.

Getting here wasn’t a cakewalk, either. He experienced the same overwhelming feeling at orientation he’d felt a year before and left before the program even started. Luckily, an admissions officer took notice and called Carl, wondering why he wasn’t there. That led to a summer connection program exposing Carl to LTU’s academic and residential life on campus.

By the end of the program, he’d found his place. In the fall of 2010, he enrolled as a civil engineering major.

Like so many, Carl didn’t know what he wanted out of college. He just knew he wanted to be the first in his family to earn a degree, grabbing all the opportunities a great education offers. But he didn’t click with civil engineering and in his third year switched his major to construction engineering technology and management.

Still, things seemed to be going in the right direction. Then life took a turn. In 2014, he found out he was having a daughter.

Her premature birth in January 2015 required a six-week hospital stay. Naturally, Carl’s biggest concern was her health and well-being; he spent a lot of time at the hospital, which made it difficult to focus on his studies.

By the time he turned his attention back to school, Carl was far behind but it was too late to drop his classes. Though he tried his best to catch up, he ended up failing. He was also stuck with the tuition bill.

And yet there was a silver lining—his daughter gave him purpose. Carl had previous experience working with inner city students, and he now knew he wanted to work with youth and guide them toward a more promising path.

After putting his education on pause to support his family and pay back student debt, he found the perfect volunteer opportunity through AmeriCorps, helping troubled inner-city freshmen and sophomores stay in school.

He loved it. After completing two years of service, he was eligible for a stipend to return to school.

Several years after dropping out, there it was—an opportunity to complete his education. He worked with an advisor on a plan to return, which included financial aid to help fulfill his dream.

Then Covid happened and the world shut down. But for Carl, who was working full-time, it was the perfect time to resume his education especially now that classes were either hybrid or fully online. He also limited his credit load and changed his major again to one that fit him better.

Carl graduated with a degree in mechanical and manufacturing engineering technology last May, 13 years after he first enrolled in LTU. A fitting ending for someone who pursued his dream of an LTU education with dogged determination.

by Pamela Houghton