Hi! Im Jaymes Anderson, and I am a nontraditional student. I began college back in the Fall semester of 2009. I was 17, and had never lived on my own.  I blame my own inexperience for having to leave and begin attending classes at Pellissippi State Community College.

I was kind of upset about, what then, felt like a step back in my development. I didnt want to tell anyone that I had failed. I had a reputation for being a great student. I had maintained perfect attendance for all 4 yeards during highschool. I was awarded money and a trophy for doing so. One year later, and I felt like I had fallen from where I was supposed to be. This was where I spent a good deal of time trying to rebuild my GPA.

It was also here where I faced one of the greatest challenges of my life.

My father did a lot for me. He gave me my first job. He helped me get my first car.  He taught me how to change my oil, and did his best to make sure that I stayed out of any kind of trouble. He just wanted me to live the "Straight and narrow" life that he believed a good Christian man should. But when I lost him, I didnt have anyone. The strong hand that guided me had vanished.

There were issues of separation between my parents, for which I blame neither of them. But it was, definitely, a bad time for me. My dad provided my income and was also the only one making sure Id come in at a proper hour,  Without anyone forcing me, and without anyone holding me accountable I slipped away into carelessness and depression. I didnt think this was possible.

It was after about a semester of this at Pellissippi when I recieved a letter in the mail. It said that I would no longer recieve financial aid for my attempt at college until I passed at least 60 credit hours without fail. I didnt have a lot of options, but I didnt give up. Instead, I got a job.

It wasnt much at the time, but I slowly learned that this place would be where I build something great. I could not afford full semesters on a Moe's budget, but I could go during fall, spring, and 2 separate summer terms in shortened classes. The fight was on.

Piece by piece I got enough credits together. I had to repeat old classes I had failed. I had to wake up early, to drive almost 45 minutes to campus, to study hard before working nights washing dishes or serving food. I became the "best dish washer and one of the hardest workers the company has ever had" according to Matt, the coorperate manager at all of Moes' Knoxville locations.  It took more time than I planned, but eventually I managed to graduate and get my associates degree.

My picture is still on their website's "Admissions" page by the way.....

Im in the line of pictures across the top.

Nervously, I applied to Middle Tennessee State University because I had learned that they had began a pure Japanese Major. Learning Japanese was the entire reason I went to UT Knoxville, however there I could only study English and learn Japanese on the side. I understood this as a sign, 

This picture, (although the site keeps cropping it terribly) is me going to MT Customs Transfer program on June 23rd 2015. I drove myself to Murfreesboro, where I had never been before. I left home in the early morning hours and slept in the parking lot when I arrived before the sun had fully risen. I got my first tour of the campus and my first look at where I would spend the next 2 years of my life trying to reach my goal.

In my first semester there, I landed a 3.8 GPA. This placed me on the Deans List. This is something I had never acciomplished in college before. However this, too, was not enough for my financial aid. Along the way, during my time Pellissippi, I failed an online Economics course that reset my count for how many classes I neede to pass in order to recieve aid. Although I had a great GPA, and has passed all my classes at my new school, the State of Tennessee still determined that my education was a bad investment. 

They gave me an opportunity to convince them that I deserved to recieve funding. I gave them everything I had: Proof of my fathers death, and the strenuous circumstances that followed, my own personal issues that were going on at the time, even issues of transportation and money that made my efforts particularly difficult. I was shown no sympathy. If not for my mother, I would have had to quit school then. She took out a huge load to allow me to go for another full term semester during Spring 2016, and I maintained my Deans List status again, passing all of my classes. 

My advisors name is Ja'Net Davis. This was a screenshot she sent me on Microsoft Outlook after my second semester on The Deans List.

Since then, My mother and I have worked together to be able to continue my Japanese studies. I have been going part time at MTSU, because I only needed the Japanese or Asian Studies courses to go along with my Associates Degree.

Last year, I maintained 2 jobs, working in the dorms at MTSU, as well as being a cook at Panda Express on MTSU's campus. I had to go part time, because I cannot afford MTSUs classes, however I have still not failed a class. 

=>I am in the process of getting scholarships to help me afford a full two semesters abroad. The amount listed above is all inclusive and on the assumption that I recieve no aid, 

=>If I go to Japan and pass the 2 semesters there, when I return I will have passed 70+ hours total. This would also qualify me to again recieve aid from the state of Tennessee to finish the final semester I would have left in order to graduate.

=>I am working every week at a minimum of 36 hours at Moes this summer to make my own contribution to this effort, however I already know that this will not cover all of the money that I need. 

If there is anything you can give to help me reach this goal, then you would literally change my life. With the degree in Japanese that I am pursuing I intend to join the US Armed Forces after graduation. I want to use the skills I have earned to give back to the communities that raised me into who I have become. 

UPDATE: I am currently living in Japan, and although I am managing day by day, I am finding that Japan is expensive. I am currently living on my own, and paying a good deal in living expenses out of pocket while being unable to work here. Any contribution would be greatly appreciated as it helps me pay for food, rent, textbooks, etc. Anything helps!