The happiness, the excitement and the pride are all emotions that go through a graduates and their family’s mind during college graduation. All of the sacrifices, late nights and deadlines having to meet, all culminating to this one ceremony.
This year’s graduation is even more special for Javan. Not only will he be the first one in his family to graduate college, but he also had more than his fair share of roadblocks to get there.
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Javan takes us on his road to graduation in his own words below:
Allow me to reintroduce myself, my name is Javan Romeo Nelson and I am a first generation college graduate. I finished high school in 2011 and told my mom that I would like to move to Orlando so I could attend the community college out there and figure life out.
Mom said “okay” and in the fall of 2011 she overdrew her Wells Fargo account to pay for my first month’s rent. Being a single mother raising three boys and working two jobs wasn’t easy and resources were certainly limited, but you made it possible for me to start school. Transferred to the University of Central Florida in the summer of 2013 and was placed on academic probation. That upcoming fall and at the age of 19 I became a father of the worlds most beautiful baby girl: Kylie Rebecca Nelson.
That semester quickly spiraled out of control and my grades took a turn for the worst. On December 14, 2013, the University of Central Florida sent me an email which read “Dear Mr. Nelson, we are sorry to inform you that you have been disqualified from the university.” Disqualified? Me? Oh and I never told my mom, until now, as she is probably reading this. I remember crying until my nose bled that night. The next semester, Spring 2014, I went back to Valencia College and paid for classes out of pocket – using the money I got from donating plasma (still got that little mark on my right arm) to assist me.
I had thought about moving back home because there I would feel safe, protected, and certainly better fed but…
… I didn’t. The very thought of disappointing my mother would make my stomach wrench. After pulling many strings and working my butt off, I finally got back into UCF. Here, I’ve maintained stellar grades, an internship, research, and of course working 40+ hours each week.
I pushed myself because I quickly realized that this entire collegiate journey is far greater than my own personal goals – this isn’t for me. My mother would always say, “When you become a doctor, I will become one too”.
Here I stand, 5 years after she has overdrawn her account, as a graduate of the University of Central Florida. I will always be mindful of the importance of helping others, especially those who were not given the opportunities I was afforded. I started this journey in hopes of becoming a medical doctor and that is just what I will be. Brother this is only the beginning. We all have a story!
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