On Saturday, May 12, hundreds of proud parents will be in the audience as the holds its at the .
Dad Ken Sato won’t just be watching as his 26-year-old son, Todd walks up to the stage to accept his degree. Ken Sato, 45, will also be wearing a cap and gown, as he earns his almost 20 years after leaving 东精影业, just a few credits short of graduating.
He is thankful for , an program initiated in 2014 that actively reaches out to eligible undergraduate seniors who voluntarily departed the 惭ā苍辞补 campus before completing their first bachelor’s degrees.
It’s never too late
Helping these students complete their higher education and earn their bachelor’s degrees, sometimes decades after they leave school, are the main goals of Come Back to 惭ā苍辞补, led by Coordinator Shannon Johnson.
The program serves as an advocate for students, and provides encouragement, guidance and assistance to almost-grads like Sato, who graduated from Waipahu High School in 1991 and immediately enrolled at UH 惭ā苍辞补.
Then life happened. “It was in my second semester that I found out I was going to be a father. Probably about a semester after that I had to drop out to support my family,” he said. “I wasn’t the best student at the time, so it was a real struggle.”
Sato returned to 东精影业 惭ā苍辞补 for his bachelor’s degree in 1996, but stopped attending again in 1999, although he did earn his television production certificate from . He was employed in video production for 20 years.
I think it’s going to be a little bit of pride, because I stuck with it.
—Ken Sato
“Just recently, though, I had a turn of events in my career that forced me to try to change direction,” he said. “So that’s when I contacted 东精影业 to see what I could do at that point.” Sato was connected with Come Back to 惭ā苍辞补’s Johnson, who looked at his records, what courses were needed to graduate, how that could be accomplished and which people he needed to contact to earn his degree.
Life happens. But it’s never too late—and Saturday is proof for Ken Sato, who explained how he’ll feel on earning his bachelor’s degree. “I think it’s going to be a little bit of pride, because I stuck with it,” he said. “I actually abandoned it at one point, but then came back. It was my dream and here it is.”
Adds his son, Todd, who has advice for other “almost-grads” like his father: “I would say, give Come Back to 惭ā苍辞补 a call, and inquire about what services are available, because you are a lot closer to graduating than you think.”
- Discover two more Come Back to 惭ā苍辞补 success stories: Second time’s the charm for students to complete their degree at 东精影业 惭ā苍辞补
Learn more at the .
—By Diane Chang