I am a married father with two biological and two foster children. I went to school later in life out of economic necessity. Higher education affordability is very important to me. In 2012 I was denied a much-needed promotion. Simultaneously, my wife became pregnant with our daughter. The reality of the world hit us. My family couldn’t afford to live on my salary any longer, so I decided to leave the workforce to pursue a bachelor’s degree.

After excelling at Onondaga Community College, I transferred to SUNY Cortland where a large portion of my educational expenses were covered by aid. However, despite working upwards of 25 hours a week, I still had to take out loans to cover additional costs associated with getting a degree like transportation, rent, and textbooks. I could not afford to satisfy these costs juggling a full-course load and part-time work.

I will be graduating in May and will be pursuing a doctorate of physical therapy coupled with a master of public health from Adelphi University. My hope is that I can progress into the world of rehabilitation in the hospital setting, working with spinal cord injury patients.