Story by ANDY LYONS, News Editor—

At this point in the semester, it’s becoming hard to find motivation.

Going to classes, homework and projects all start to get kicked to the back-burner as stress levels rise and social circles expand.

Thanksgiving break next week will be a welcome reprieve and a chance to reset and refocus.

The looming question, however, is how will students and faculty approach the last few weeks of the semester?

I look toward the future.  That piece of paper we receive upon graduation is the ticket to the rest of our lives.

The opportunities opened from graduating are immense, and UCM has a really high placement rate amongst its graduates.

More than that though, I dig deeper. I look at the people around me and what they have going on.  I strive to be better.

I did a profile piece in our Homecoming issue over Coach John Culp, and he and I became very close.

His wife, Sandy, has been battling cancer for a couple years and was recently rushed to the hospital because her blood platelets are low and she was bleeding.

I emailed Coach wishing him well and letting him know he had the thoughts and prayers of countless people.

He responded to me, asking me about some personal things I was going through before even acknowledging the sympathies.

That’s one of my sources of inspiration, someone so selfless that they put everyone else’s worries in front of their own.

I know when I graduate I’ll have opportunities to mentor and impact the lives of people around me, and because of people like Coach, I’ll have the desire to follow through with it.

A few weeks ago I did an opinion piece of drug abuse and talked about a friend that was using heroin.

I’ve recently also had to handle the passing of my grandfather to pancreatic cancer and a close friend was diagnosed with a pituitary macroadenoma, which is basically a benign tumor larger than 10mm in size in his brain.

I’ve had a lot of excuses to quit, to stop doing the things I do. Instead, I brought my friend to Warrensburg to get the help she needs. I’ve introduced her to my friends and kept her sober.

Instead of dwelling on my losses, I’ve relished them, and used them as more motivation because the people I’ve lost wouldn’t want me to sit in the corner, tucked in the fetal position and sobbing to myself.

They’d want me to persevere and make myself and the people around me better.

My teachers and advisers have been extremely supportive of me this semester and all the things I’ve been trying to do.

Without that last bit of support, I might have folded.

I consider myself lucky to be a part of the community here at UCM. The motivation I’ve gotten from everyone has been unreal.