My journey to becoming a college graduate began in 1991 as an 18-year-old when I enrolled at the University of Oklahoma.

I was an engineering major on scholarship, and my future looked bright in the beginning. I made the dean’s list my first semester with a 3.0 GPA, I entered the spring semester optimistic about what was ahead for me.

Unfortunately, I started down a dark path of drug and alcohol abuse and ran into a buzzsaw — engineering math — that made me question my career decision. I ended up getting arrested for grand theft and was placed on probation in the middle of the semester. Returning to OU for my sophomore year was out of the question after I failed calculus and lost my scholarship.

I made the decision to return home and change my major. I took a couple of summer courses at Houston Community College in 1992 and enrolled at the University of Houston for the Spring 1993 semester as a business-marketing major with the intent on having a career in advertising.

However, I was a drug addict and alcoholic

I ended up getting arrested for possession of a controlled substance and weapons possession in the middle of the Fall 1993 semester and was subsequently sent to prison for the first time (it wouldn’t be my last).

School wasn’t on my mind anymore after being released from prison in 1995. I became enamored with street life, and it wasn’t long before I was back in prison.

My life was out of control.

Now, let’s fast forward to 2017. I decided to give college another try and enrolled back in HCC after unsuccessfully trying to find a meaningful job.

This time, I changed my major to communications. By now, I had enough credit hours to be considered a sophomore, and I was on a mission to get a degree … that is until I relapsed and was arrested again in March 2019 on another possession of controlled substance charge. The judge was lenient on me and gave me probation which I completed in 2021.

I relocated to Milwaukee after the death of my brother and was there until 2023 when I became homeless and moved back to Houston. I spent a year in a homeless shelter and decided in November 2024 that I had unfinished business and enrolled back in HCC to complete my journey of getting a college degree. So, here I am less than two weeks away from completing the Spring 2025 semester and earning my Associates of Arts degree.

It has been a struggle, but I’ve persevered and fought through the adversity. I’m about to accomplish something that I should have done over 30 years ago.

I’m still a little apprehensive about finishing up, but I’m determined to see it through finally.