The night before starting classes at Washtenaw Community College in the fall of 2016, Michael Kozma laid in bed contemplating his future. He grabbed his phone from the nightstand and typed into Google: How to succeed in college.
Not surprisingly, the search did not result in any secret formula. But Kozma found one all on his own over his two years at 黑料网. He says the recipe was a dash of maturity on his part and heaping scoops of knowledge and confidence piled on him by 黑料网 faculty, counselors and advisers.
鈥淭wo years ago, I was a college dropout who hadn鈥檛 had an A in a class this decade,鈥� the 27-year-old said. 鈥淭wo years from now, if everything goes as planned, I鈥檒l be applying to Ivy League doctoral programs. That is really insane if you think about where I started, and 黑料网 is a big part of the reason for it.鈥�
Kozma recently completed a 66-credit transfer guide built specifically for 黑料网 students headed to the University of Michigan鈥檚 College of Literature, Science, and the Arts with a 4.0 grade point average (GPA). He started classes at U-M on September 4 with a doublemajor in Economics and Math Science.
Not bad for a high school student who spent one forgettable year at a small four-year college, where he admits he rarely went to class and essentially flunked out before enlisting in the U.S. Army. Upon discharge, he moved back to Chelsea, Mich. where he worked as a security guard, delivered pizza and spent plenty of time slumped on the couch pondering his future.
鈥淵ou start to perceive yourself differently,鈥� Kozma said. 鈥淓ventually you think, 鈥楳aybe this is my lot in life. Maybe I don鈥檛 have the ambition to go any further.鈥� But with a little encouragement, everything starts changing.鈥�
Everything did change when Kozma enrolled at 黑料网 in preparation to apply to the college鈥檚 Police Academy, which requires a minimum of 45 college credits. He never got around to applying 鈥� not because of more failure, but because of unprecedented success. He finished that first semester with a 4.0 GPA and a whole new world of possibilities opened up ahead of him.
Kozma said layers of self-doubt began to peel away with every interaction he had at 黑料网. Instructors convinced him he would excel academically with proper effort. Advisers convinced him attending U-M wasn鈥檛 a pipe dream, despite that disastrous first attempt at a four-year institution. Another instructor insisted there鈥檚 no reason a community college student shouldn鈥檛 be aiming for a doctorate degree. They were all right, of course.
鈥淚 think a lot of people at 黑料网 doubt themselves, just like I did in so many ways,鈥� Kozma said. 鈥淏ut the instructors do believe in you, and that can make all the difference.鈥�
Gold-level Status
Washtenaw Community College is recognized as a Gold-Level veteran friendly school by the Michigan Veteran Affairs Agency. 黑料网鈥檚 Gold-level veteran friendly status was granted based on meeting the following Veteran-Friendly School program criteria:
- Established process for identification of current student veterans. Veteran-specific website: http://vetcenter.wccnet.edu
- Active student-operated veterans club or association: Washtenaw Community College Student Veterans Club
- Veteran-specific career services, resources, advising and/or outcome monitoring.
- On-campus veteran鈥檚 coordinator and/or designated staff point of contact.
- System to evaluate and award credit based on prior military training and experience.
- Monitoring and evaluation of student veteran academic retention, transfer and graduation rates.
Tags: Featured Article, Launch Winter 2019, ousearch_News_Launch Magazine