From Academic Probation to Fortune 500 Career

From kindergarten until 12th grade I mastered school. From being in a magnet program in middle school to taking AP classes all throughout high school, I knew I was good at school.

That is until college.

My first year of college was one of the most fun yet stressful times of my life. The freedom of college overwhelmed me, and to soak it all up I began leaving school behind. When I realized during first semester finals week that I was borderline failing three classes, I was frozen. I used to get almost all As in grade school, and now the only “A” I had was in a one-credit participation based class.

I tried to study, but because of how deep of a hole I dug myself into, it was almost impossible to absorb all that information. At the end of finals week, all I could do was pray that I would pass all my classes. When grades came out, I was shocked to see that I managed to pass 2/3 of the classes I was worried about. But as I looked down to my computer science grade, my heart sank when I saw that letter D staring back at me.

My heart sank even more when I saw my GPA.

1.8.

I graduated high school with an unweighted GPA of 3.57, and the lowest I’ve gone was around a 3.2. So getting below a 2.0 was practically a slap in the face.

I knew I was going to have to retake my computer science class in the spring but what I didn’t know was that I was now on Academic Probation. I got the email from the University telling me if I don’t bring my GPA over a 2.0 by the end of the year, then I would be kicked out.

I cried a lot of that winter break. Every time I closed my eyes the number 1.8 and the words academic probation would flash in front of me. As beat up as I was, I pretended to everyone around me that I was ok. No one knew that the spring semester had the potential to be my last.

Finally, I worked up the nerve to tell my parents because they were paying for my education, so they deserved to know the truth. I was surprised by how well they took it. My parents didn’t get to experience college, so I guess they felt they couldn’t tell me how well I should be doing.