Odds were against Chris Brown, a nursing major, when he decided to give college a third shot at IUPUI in 2015. He originally started as a computer science major at Indiana University in 2000. He found himself unsuccessful at IU, saying that he “wasn’t in the right mind-set.”
Focus on what is right in front of you and don't think too much about what all you still have ahead.
Chris Brown
Years later, in 2006, he decided to give college another shot at IUPUI. Again, he found himself struggling and giving up.
Finally in 2015, Chris came back to IUPUI one last time. He was determined to get into nursing school. This time, he was balancing more than ever, trying to support his now family of four. He was starting out with a GPA of 0.9. Many people told him that he should try a less competitive program because it would take thousands of hours to replace all of his previously poor grades.
Nursing school is very competitive; only a fraction of those who apply get accepted into the IU School of Nursing. With grade replacements and a lot of hard work, Chris was accepted into the IU School of Nursing at the age of 33. He always had a passion for helping others, and now he aspires to even more than nursing school.
A piece of advice he would give to other nontraditional students, as well as anyone who is concerned about their ability to succeed, is to “use all of your resources.” He met with multiple advisors in the Health and Life Sciences Advising cluster and said that he benefited from having multiple opinions and different sets of eyes looking at the problem.
Chris believed that “focusing on what is right in front of you and not thinking too much about what all you still have ahead” is what got him through. It can be overwhelming looking at the broad picture. “Take it one class at a time”.
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Written by: Mykaela King