“I’m graduating college. I never thought I’d be able to say that. Four short years ago I was a smartass kid in a small town who had no idea what he wanted to do with his life. Now I’m about to walk across the stage of E.J. Thomas Hall and accept the greatest achievement I’ve earned thus far – a college degree.”
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I’m graduating college.
I never thought I’d be able to say that.
Four short years ago I was a smartass kid in a small town who had no idea what he wanted to do with his life.
Now I’m about to walk across the stage of E.J. Thomas Hall and accept the greatest achievement I’ve earned thus far – a college degree.
I honestly thought I’d be lucky to make it through my first year here at the University of Akron, let alone graduate. There was a point in time when I considered not coming back to school after my first semester. Thankfully, I realized what a terrible idea that would be.
My family has a joke about what we call Deshong Luck. It’s kind of like Murphy’s Law – if it can go wrong, it will go wrong.
However, as I write this column, I can’t help but look back over my college career and realize how lucky I really was.
If it weren’t for Mr. Tom Beck and everyone who works at WZIP-FM and Z-TV, I probably wouldn’t still be a student at UA. The skills I’ve learned in the program extend far beyond talking on the radio and the friends I’ve made are some of the greatest people you could ever meet.
Dr. Zachary Williams in the History Department taught me more about myself in 15 weeks than I could figure out on my own in 22 years. I can honestly say his class was the only class over my four years at UA that I didn’t want to miss. That’s saying something coming from this guy.
Dr. Therese Lueck in the School of Communication has done more than I could ever ask for when I needed help. She encouraged me to join the staff of the Buchtelite after taking her newswriting and feature writing classes. I don’t think I would have even filled out an application if it weren’t for her encouragement.
Lastly, I couldn’t have accomplished anything without the support of my family. I’ve depended on everyone from my parents to stepparents to grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins and every other relation you could possibly think of. I’ve depended on all of these people for support throughout my entire life and not once have I been let down.
Whether it’s a short phone call from my Aunt Peggy in Columbus about the second grade class she teaches or a five-hour text message conversation with my cousin Craig in New York about music or talking to my 4-year-old niece Kyrstin about her day at school, they lift me up and make me realize how lucky I really am to have them in my life. If it weren’t for them, there would be no Dillon Deshong.
And on top of everything else, I have been presented the opportunity to come back to Akron and pursue a master’s degree.
I think my family and I need to go back to the drawing board and come up with a new definition of Deshong Luck.
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