Aijalon Edwards很清楚自己想做什么。
在美国空军服役四年后，他知道心理健康资源对退伍军人至关重要。 他决定攻读心理学学位，以帮助退伍军人和黑人社区。
爱德华兹从曾经参加过威尼斯人娱乐城的人那里听说，这是一所文化驱动的大学，他很重视这一点。 他还需要一个灵活的课程，因为他领导着一家保安公司，而且是一个单身父亲。
起初，他很难适应上学的生活，甚至考虑过辍学，但后来他明白了在这里找到自己的社区意味着什么。 Edwards met Roland A. Hemmings Jr. (B.A. ’05, M.A. ’12, Ed.D. ’21), the assistant director of 多元文化学生事务, during First Semester Experience.
“He became a mentor to me,” Edwards said. “He informed me about the office when he saw I was struggling…He is the reason I have not given up; one of the biggest and most humbling relationships God has blessed me with since starting this journey at 威尼斯人娱乐城.”
在海明斯的建议下，爱德华兹开始参加学生组织。 He joined the 非裔美国人培养卓越 (AACE) mentoring program, which offers professional and peer mentoring, academic support, workshops and activities. He also joined the 有色人种学院, a cohort program that promotes personal growth and prepares members for a successful transition into life after college. And he started accessing the services offered by the 学生退伍军人支援服务办公室, which helped him navigate his military educational benefits and provided social activities, even ones his kids could attend with him. 对爱德华兹来说，威尼斯人娱乐城社区改变了他的学生经历。
“Having people around you with the same goals and backgrounds can keep your head in the game and keep you from wanting to give up,” Edwards said. “Also, having so many different cultural outlooks or mindsets can better shape who you are as a person by giving you different perspectives.”
爱德华兹参加的项目和组织也帮助他学会了如何驾驭高等教育，寻找资源，并鼓励他寻求帮助。 爱德华兹说，一开始，由于他的背景，他对与教师接触感到担忧。
“I’m from the military, where you don’t talk above your rank,” he said.
在组织人员的鼓励下，他与教职员工交谈，发现他们理解、平易近人、乐于助人。
“It took a lot of weight off my shoulders,” Edwards said. “The most common reason you'll hear for networking is all the opportunities it can provide…however, building relationships with people who have gone through similar struggles and successes can lead to strong and lasting connections, essentially becoming a second family, which, to me, matters much more.”
虽然学生组织及其提供的社区帮助了爱德华兹，但海明斯是第一个说爱德华兹是他自己成功的关键的人。
“Ultimately, AJ’s success is a reflection of his own dedication and hard work, and I'm simply here to help him realize what is already inside him,” Hemmings said. “AJ is a hardworking student, dedicated to making a difference in his family's life and studies. I’m impressed by his resilience in the face of challenges, and his ability to balance academics with all his other responsibilities.”
Edwards says being a non-traditional student has its challenges, and he still sometimes finds it tough to summon all the energy it requires to manage school, a team at work and parenting, but the support he’s gained has helped him stay determined and give himself grace.
“The best advice I could give anyone who wants to go back to school is, there is never a good time to go back,” Edwards said. “You have to force it to fit your agenda, and your path is never clear and sometimes life just gets in the way. 对你能做的事情心存感激，不要对你无法控制的事情感到压力。 Humble yourself and accept that you’re amazing for walking this journey. It took me meeting a wonderful professor to realize that.”
While there may be setbacks, Edwards said, that’s not always a bad thing.
“Sometimes you may not realize it, but the rain helps. 抬起你的头。 A brick a day will pave the way.”