AURORA | The path from college orientation to graduation is rarely without a hurdle or two. But sometimes, the path is so riddled with obstacles, it’s a wonder students ever receive a diploma.
At Community College of Aurora, school officials last week honored a handful of students who, despite academic journeys rife with challenges, still managed to traverse that path to graduation.
The school’s annual Student Success Awards, which are in their 10th year, recognize students who have overcome adversity to succeed at CCA. This year, 31 students were honored, and 14 received a $500 scholarship from the CCA Foundation.
James Gray, chairman of the math department at CCA and one of the professors who launched the awards a decade ago, said the annual event is an important opportunity to honor students who aren’t often acknowledged.
Many of the students honored come from difficult family situations, arrived in the United States only recently or come from a challenging economic background. Gray said that in many cases, those students are recognized only for what they can’t do, not for what they can excel at.
“A lot of these students who get this award have never been recognized for anything before,” he said.
Gray helped start the awards program after teaching Teresa Grant in 2004. Grant, who was 44 at the time, struggled with a host of personal tragedies — including the death of her daughter and son in law — while she was a student and still managed to finish her education at CCA.
At this year’s award luncheon, Grant, who is finishing her bachelor’s degree at Metropolitan State University of Denver, was the keynote speaker.
Gray said seeing Grant not only succeed in college, but come back to CCA to inspire other students was a proud moment.
Grant said she hopes her story — which includes dropping out of school after eighth grade, losing her husband and then raising her daughter’s children after her daughter’s death — shows other struggling students that they can overcome anything and still finish their education.
“You just need the will, that’s all you need,” she said. “You just need to want it bad enough.”
Grant said the close relationships between CCA staff and the students help make sure students can stick it out through tough times.
CCA President Betsy Oudenhoven said that closeness is something the school prides itself on. Despite the school’s size, Oudenhoven said staff there make it a point to forge close relationships with students.
“This is not a place where students get lost,” she said.