Throughout middle and high school, “school” became a word that struck fear in my heart. As a child I was labeled as a dyslexic who struggled with reading and writing. I was told I would amount to very little in life and that college was not for everyone.

At the age of 31, I decided to become a civilian and leave my Army life behind. Unfortunately, my skills at firing missiles were not in demand outside of the military. I needed more education and training to achieve my goal of becoming a biomedical engineer.