I’ve been lurking here for a while and decided to finally introduce myself. My name is Roger. I am 27 years old, engaged to be married this May to a wonderful woman. I have a BS in Computer Sciences from Keene State College and graduated in 2005.
I have been working crappy jobs since graduation and am very unhappy where my career is going. I am currently in technical support at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and have been there about two and a half years in this dead-end job. I absolutely hate it. It is the most unrewarding job I’ve ever had and leaves me feeling mentally drained and emotionally empty at the end of the day. I am really trying hard to find another job but with the current economy, that’s easier said than done.
I had always hoped to work for myself someday and be my own boss. I started a small software development and consulting business last year and went no where. I was admitted into the MBA program at Plymouth State University but never finished a single class because I realized I really didn’t need an MBA to run my business. So I withdrew from my two classes. Since then, I have lost my passion with computers and self-employment. That passion has been replaced with wanting to become a doctor.
My fiancé’s mother is a doctor (family practitioner). Whenever we talk, I hang onto every word she says. I am so fascinated about what she does. Back in September, I started researching what it would take to become a doctor. For me, that is an uphill battle. My under grad GPA was terrible. I think it was a 2.2. But, every GPA has a reason for being what it is. I was not lazy, I did not party. I became a father at 21.
The girl that I had been dating wasn’t in college and was an hour away. When she said she was pregnant, I was a wreck and the decline started almost immediately. My mind was NOT on school. Her mother wanted me to drop out of school so I can support her. I told her I could not do that. I knew I had a better chance of supporting a family if I had a college degree. So, whenever I was not in class, I was “home” working. My grades suffered because of exhaustion and lack of time I had to devote to my studies. It was also trying to deal with emotional and psychological problems that being father had caused. I was basically scared to death. My family was very supportive and I will be forever grateful. My grades took a nosedive as a result of all of this. Our baby was born 6 weeks premature so I had to take a week off of school to be with my baby and girlfriend. I couldn’t get any homework done and missed a lot of material entirely. When I wasn’t at the hospital, I was working. My mantra was “get the credits and get out”.
About six months later and as our son was growing filling out, my family began to notice things. My son did not have any of my features. My family didn’t think this little boy was mine. At the time, my girlfriend and I were having problems with our relationship and were separated. We were trying to work things out and were making progress. On a weekend that I had my son, we had a paternity test taken. A skin sample from our cheeks were taken and submitted to the lab. I waited an agonizing two weeks for the results. I was at a friends house one day and my mother called me there. She was crying. I knew why she was crying before she said anything. I was not the father. I rushed home to look at the lab results. Saying that I was devastated would be an understatement. I was destroyed. I wanted to die.
After a few months of dealing with lawyers, I legally had my name removed from the birth certificate as the father. I told my ex-girlfriend that I never wanted to see her again. A few weeks later, I was back at school.
The last remaining year and a half was the most difficult. I was a train wreck. I never stopped thinking about that little boy. He was my son and then he wasn’t. I was in love with my girlfriend and then felt betrayed. I would cry myself to sleep every night. I could not concentrate. I declined to get counseling because I thought I could control my feelings. I was taking overloaded semesters to make up for lost time so I could graduate and get out of there. When I couldn’t handle the workload, I dropped a class. When the semester was over, I was out of there. I took the remaining requirements online and was finally given my diploma in September of 2005.
Over the next few years, I met an amazing women, bought a house, and will be married in a few months. She knows a little about my dream of becoming a doctor but she does not know about me being a father (water under the bridge).
So, this explains why I have a low GPA but I am thinking of doing a second bachelors in Biology at our local 4-year college to hopefully fix it. I am a stronger person today and I know I will have lots of support. I’m sure I’ll have to put this story in my personal statement when it’s time to apply to medical school to explain low grades. Heck, I’m amazed I was accepted into the MBA program. But anyway…
I am so glad I have found this site. I’ve been reading priceless information for a few weeks now and I hope I can contribute and learn more as I embark on the long road ahead. Thanks everyone for reading this and for any future support.
Welcome!
Hey, we all have our reasons. Yours seems much more nobel than my reasons for my GPA. I just didn’t care then. 
It’s an uphill battle, but from what I’ve read on site, not impossible. Welcome to the marathon!