Joshua Borthick wasn’t able to focus on school immediately after high school, but found himself independently motivated to learn. He utilized the library to teach himself and read a variety of books. After several attempts to complete a degree and prevailing over homelessness and substance abuse, Josh has found balance in his life. Now, he’s in the honors college and just one semester away from graduating with his Computer Science degree.

Josh is not only taking computer classes, he also enjoys his creative writing class, and draws inspiration from his own experiences in his writing. He’s enjoying his courses and states that they’re the best parts of being a student.

While Josh finds himself surrounded with support, especially from his mother and sister, he emphasizes the importance of believing in yourself. “If you don’t believe in you, it doesn’t matter who else believes in you.” This also means taking advantage of resources and looking for additional support. “Some of them are hard to get, but people just don’t know about [some] of them.” This is one area where a well-written scholarship essay can be beneficial. He shares a tip for anyone writing a scholarship essay, “I would say be as honest but thorough as possible because the essays regarding a need and why they should give you money can make the difference between having to skip a semester, which maybe turns into having to drop out, compared to being able to just squeeze through.”

His advice to other adult students is to believe in themselves, find an advisor you are comfortable with, balance difficult classes with less challenging classes, and put in the effort to write a good scholarship essay. Finally, Josh suggests that students should find something that helps them focus and clear their head. For him, that thing is meditation and caring for his cats.

Depending on your specific major, academic history, and other factors, resources will vary. If you’re interested in exploring resources for adult students, please visit our webapge.

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