Today, at the Empowerment Tour's final stop in Venice Beach, CA, we had the honor of being present as American Public University awarded a full-tuition scholarship to a lucky recipient. The scholarship winner was David Thatcher, 31, a resident of La Mesa, CA. When David was first called by American Public University, he never dreamed he would ever be a winner. He only thought he was being interviewed with several other scholarship finalists. So David and wife, Sarah, came up from San Diego by train, figuring they would have a family outing at Venice Beach. Little did David know he wasn’t just a finalist, but actually the recipient of a full-tuition scholarship to attend an accredited online university. “I was shocked. It was amazing that I won!” David remarked "When I applied back in July, I thought it was just one of those 'Internet things' and didn’t expect to hear anything back. I didn’t even fill out the essay, until I got a reminder email." David's wife, Sarah, is especially thrilled that her husband can pursue a college education from home. “I am really excited because it means David gets to be at home with me and Derek.” Wrote David in his winning essay: "I have never had the chance to truly start an education. Thanks to American Public University for helping David's dream come true. Congratulations Thatcher family, and good luck!
I was raised in a strict Christian fundamentalist home in San Diego, CA. My desire toward the end of high school was to attend UCSD or SDSU and major in computer science or information technology. (I have had an interest in computers since I was 6 or 7 years old.) However, my parents wouldn't allow this and forced me to go to an unaccredited "Bible college" in Texas. I spent a year and a half there, before my parents pulled me out for a year, and then divorced. I moved back in with my mother. Due to a car accident and major psychological issues from the divorce she was unable to work and I supported her. From that time (Summer 1998) until the end of 2006, I worked full time in various technology roles (tech support, repair depot, help desk).
At the end of 2006 I lost my job, and, six months later, lost my home and filed for bankruptcy. In the summer of 2007 I found work again as a technical support rep. I am still unable to break out of these low-end pseudo-IT positions because of my lack of a college education. I continue to work as a tech support rep to this day.
In November 2007, at the age of 29, I married my wife; we now have a 4-month old son. Marriage was the right decision for me on many levels. However, I have never been free of family obligations in my entire life, with the exception of the year and half I spent in "Bible College". This means I have never been able to take my full time and resources and apply them to getting a serious education. I do believe I could handle many IT support roles with my existing experience, but the lack of a degree makes that irrelevant.
Not even an associates' degree is relevant any longer. One of my co-workers has an associates’ degree from a local technical college, and he can't find anything better either. As a matter of fact, he makes less than me!
In order to attend college at this point, I would have to finance 100% of my expenses minus grants, and that is a debt load I cannot bring myself to take on. Furthermore, that level of financing would require me to resort to private lending, which I want no part of. I am 31 years old. I don't want to be paying off student loans well after I'm "over the hill," but this means no college education. I get really resentful of all these commercials for "ITT" and "University of Phoenix." They tell you their students have better lives. How can they with all that debt?"
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