“What are you doing? You need to leave this place.” A coworker’s advice was the final nudge Joe needed to change the trajectory of his life.

Early Days

Joe grew up in the bootheel of Missouri in a small town named Caruthersville where he lived with his mom, dad, and two sisters until he was 13. Upon his dad’s passing, his family moved around until he ended up in Thayer, MO in 2008. After moving to Thayer, Joe immediately felt a sense of belonging and their family was welcomed in with open arms.

Joe continued to thrive and graduated from Thayer High School in 2010. After graduation, he decided to join his friends by enrolling at MSU- West Plains. While trying to juggle work, school, and an active social life, Joe quickly realized that he may have mis-timed his entry into higher education. He withdrew from college and instead focused on finding employment.

The quest to find stable employment was a challenge, but Joe credits his mother and her battle with cancer as the driving force behind his strong work ethic and persevering character. At 22 years old, Joe began working at a factory where he met one of his best friends who just so happened to also be his supervisor, Randy. It didn’t take long for Randy to realize that Joe had a lot to offer and began to present him with leadership opportunities. Unfortunately, Joe and Randy soon found themselves out of work as the factory was moved out of the country in 2015. As a result, Joe found himself again on the hunt trying to find work here and there and taking odd jobs to pay the bills.

In 2016, Joe ended up finding some stability in Arkansas working for Unilever as a Basic Operator Upgrade. He quickly progressed from a fresh-faced new hire to being known as the best machine operator in the plant. While efficiently working on a repair as his colleague Quala looked on, she asked him a pivotal question, “What are you doing?” She was not referencing the repair- Quala knew that he aspired to return to college and persistently encouraged him to return.

The Journey to MSU

Joe took that advice and made the decision to return to Springfield and enrolled at Ozarks Technical Community College in 2020. Joe chose to pursue an Associate of Science degree in Computer Science. Knowing that he would ultimately need a four-year degree to obtain his career goals, Joe set his sights on attending MSU after his time at OTC. In 2022, Joe found a 2+2 transfer guide that helped him to visualize that pathway to MSU. Joe successfully graduated from OTC in the spring semester of 2024 with his mom proudly cheering him on from the crowd exclaiming, “You did it!”

Taking advantage of that momentum, Joe did not waste any time after graduating from OTC and applied to Missouri State University for the fall 2024 semester to pursue a degree in Computer Science and minor in Mathematics. Upon his admission, Joe received an invitation from Adult Student Services to attend the Adult Student Orientation prior to the semester beginning. He is so glad that he attended because his first few weeks of class were a bit overwhelming. Joe reached out to Adult Student Services for help navigating some of the challenges that he was experiencing.

“I was like, who can I message? Who do I need to talk to? Ever since I reached out to Adult Student Services, things have been so much better.”

Joe shares that he doesn’t feel as though he needs to worry about everything else that comes along with being in college; he can now simply concentrate on his courses and making good grades.

As far as his plans for the future, Joe would like to experience living somewhere besides Missouri and Arkansas and apply the knowledge that he plans on acquiring during his time at MSU. He aspires to learn more about artificial intelligence and its various applications and looks forward to achieving a steady and comfortable living.

Joe’s advice to other adults considering pursuing an education at Missouri State University?

“Reach out to someone. There are more people on your team than you realize. Don’t wait and try not to stress too much.”

He knows, without a doubt, that his mom and now Adult Student Services are both on his “team” as he makes his way towards his graduation goal of Spring 2026.

Thank you for taking the time to meet with us, Joe! We appreciate the opportunity to support you in your higher education journey.