I started looking into colleges in 1995. At the time I was working nights and was getting child care assistance but it ran out. I knew I had to do something different. I thought about applying to some other universities, but Martin was the only school still accepting applications at the time. It was my intention to transfer after one semester, but after the first semester, I knew Martin was for me. I went to a high school where I didn’t receive much support, so I didn’t expect much when I started college, but the people at Martin really seemed to care about where I was going with my life.

I graduated in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. I like doing people’s taxes because I enjoy helping people, but I love working in graphic design, so I opened my own business where I do both tax accounting and design. I always used to feel like I had limitations, but after going to school at Martin, I felt like I could do anything I wanted. People have different reasons for going to school. I went to improve my situation. I would recommend that if anyone is trying to improve their situation to not give up.