{"id":3836,"date":"2018-08-06T12:06:06","date_gmt":"2018-08-06T17:06:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dunwoody.edu\/news\/?p=3836"},"modified":"2018-12-14T09:15:30","modified_gmt":"2018-12-14T15:15:30","slug":"dunwoody-provides-life-changing-experience-for-2018-graduate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dunwoody.edu\/news\/2018\/dunwoody-provides-life-changing-experience-for-2018-graduate\/","title":{"rendered":"Dunwoody provides life-changing experience for 2018 graduate"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Dunwoody Electrical Construction Design & Management alum Jessica Hart would not describe her path to Dunwoody as easy. But she would describe it as worthwhile.<\/p>\n

Having previously attended a local community college and experienced difficulties in finding a job that fit her degree, Hart was hesitant to go back to school. But the desire for a successful career pushed her to research Dunwoody.<\/p>\n

Deciding Dunwoody<\/strong><\/h6>\n

\u201cI looked into Dunwoody because I had heard it has a reputation for turning out the best graduates among all the technical schools in the State,\u201d Hart said. \u201cIts focus on employable skills and connections to industry as well as its location right off downtown Minneapolis sweetened the deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dunwoody also had the program Hart wanted.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always had a fascination with infrastructure \u2014 whether it\u2019s the flow of traffic according to signals or what\u2019s actually happening when you plug a lamp into the wall,\u201d Hart said. \u201cMy mom tells the story of how the lights once flickered on and off during a church service because four-year-old me was in the hallway thinking \u2018what does THIS one do!?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting to be a part of the magic of electricity is super fulfilling for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

So Hart made the difficult decision to give college a second try. And in the spirit of change, decided to take another leap of faith \u2014 and enroll under a name and the pronouns she had always preferred.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that Dunwoody was completely accommodating to me, before I\u2019d even taken steps to legally correct my identity, was absolutely instrumental in keeping me alive and determined to complete my degree,\u201d Hart shared.<\/p>\n

Having immediately connected with her program and teachers, Hart felt like she was finally on the right path. But just a few weeks into the program, she found herself face to face with another challenge.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot two months into Dunwoody, I lost my home,\u201d Hart said. \u201cI spent weeks living at the homeless shelter just off Hennepin, changing clothes every day in a tiny storage unit across from Target Field. I definitely wouldn\u2019t have made it if not for my amazing instructors and newfound friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Dunwoody family <\/strong><\/h6>\n
\"\"
Hart presents to industry representatives on her semester project in February of 2018<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Perhaps the most influential of those instructors were Electrical Construction & Maintenance Assistant Professors Polly Friendshuh and Jeff Chase, and Electrical Construction Design & Management Senior Instructor Nick Bohl.<\/p>\n

\u201cPolly\u2019s care and understanding gave me the courage to persevere \u2014 to become a master of the bus network to get myself around town, to never once miss class or be late, and to navigate the legal system to set my real identity in stone,\u201d she shared. \u201cJeff encouraged me to open up more and try new things. And Nick\u2019s connections in the industry landed me my current job at exactly the moment I needed it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two years later, life for Hart looks much different. Serving as the Electrical Database Specialist for Egan Company, Hart is now responsible for maintaining the database behind Accubid Enterprise estimating software.<\/p>\n

\u201cDunwoody was the single most transformative experience of my life,\u201d Hart said. \u201cI started out with no home, friends, or future, and now I have a career, an apartment, and a degree! The connections I made at Dunwoody are the most fruitful I\u2019ve ever had.<\/p>\n

\u201cPolly once told me that you aren\u2019t just getting a degree when you come to Dunwoody, you\u2019re getting a second family\u2014and that is so true. We take care of each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t be prouder to be a Dunwoody alum.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dunwoody Electrical Construction Design & Management alum Jessica Hart would not describe her path to Dunwoody as easy. But she would describe it as worthwhile. Having previously attended a local community college and experienced difficulties in finding a job that fit her degree, Hart was hesitant to go back to school. But the desire for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[305,178],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alumni-and-friends","category-student-news"],"yoast_head":"\nDunwoody provides life-changing experience for 2018 graduate<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Jessica Hart would not describe her path to Dunwoody as easy. 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