When Doug Kirchner Jr., BA 鈥17, crossed the stage in December to receive his degree in applied conflict management with a minor in criminal justice鈥攖he first in his family to graduate from college鈥攈is wife, Katie, and three sons were there to cheer him on.
But three other important people in his life were missing: his friend and mentor, Scott, a state policeman who had died in 2016; his mother, who had died in 2015; and his daughter, Skyler, who had died in 2011 at age 12.
Skyler had started him on this path鈥攂efore she died of brain cancer, she had made him promise to get his GED. 鈥淥ne day she asked me what I was going to be when I grew up,鈥 he recalls. 鈥淚 laughed and said, 鈥榃ell, I鈥檓 kind of grown up. I鈥檓 in my thirties, I have three kids and one on the way, and there鈥檚 not much I can do because I never graduated from high school.鈥欌
Dropping out of school in ninth grade鈥攁fter years of struggling with ADHD, dyslexia and a learning disability that hadn鈥檛 been diagnosed until after he鈥檇 failed several grades鈥攈e started managing bands and promoting concerts in and around Cleveland. He married his first wife in 1997, had his daughter in 1999 and was divorced in 2001.
He had remarried, had a son and was working at a cellphone company when his daughter was first diagnosed with brain cancer at age 6. After several years of remission, the cancer returned, and by age 12, she was terminal.
Work went by the wayside as he helped take care of her, and after she died in November 2011, he had to file for bankruptcy. He began attending GED education classes with and earned his General Equivalency Diploma in June 2012.
He鈥檇 kept his promise to his daughter, and that鈥檚 where he thought his education would end. But at his GED commencement, he鈥檇 met some recruiters from the , located on the Kent Campus, which helps GED graduates transition to college by offering academic, financial and social support. 鈥淭hey called me up and invited me to sit with them for a week鈥攂efore I knew it, I had signed up to enroll for a semester, just to try it.鈥
鈥淚 got my GED for my daughter, but to complete college, I had to start doing it for myself.鈥
鈥擠oug Kirchner, BA 鈥17
It took him about four and a half years to complete his coursework, while working as a security specialist/investigator to help pay the bills. He credits his wife, caring professors and his 鈥淟unch Bunch鈥濃攁 small group of fellow students鈥攆or helping him make it through. 鈥淚 got my GED for my daughter, but to complete college I had to start doing it for myself.鈥
鈥淢y heart is to change lives,鈥 he says, 鈥渁nd to show juveniles who don鈥檛 have a voice that there is hope.鈥
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