Donation protected
On Mother’s Day 2021, Cameron was involved in a terrible automobile accident that took the life of his brother-in law, and left Cameron fighting for his life. He has spent the last week in the ICU having multiple surgeries. He has a long road ahead of him with recovery and eventually returning to school to complete his Bachelors degree in sociology. This was a dream he didn’t think was possible when I first met him in the Veterans Resource Center at Glendale Community College.
My hope is that with this we can help with the financial burden this family will have while he is recovering from his injuries.
Cameron is currently in his second year at California State University, Northridge. When he graduated from Glendale, he wrote this to inspire future veterans to continue with their education.
"Many years ago, I served my country and volunteered for service in Afghanistan. That seemed like a piece of cake to me, because I was very confident in myself and my team of fellow soldiers. I never once imagined myself as a college student at the time. For my entire life, I never thought I was smart enough for college. I listened to the people who told me I couldn't do it. I instead chose the military right after high school. After losing one of my best friends in Afghanistan and coming close to losing my own life several times, I broke into a very deep, alcohol-induced depression working as a nightclub bouncer for a living. It was the mother of my friend who was killed in action that helped me on my feet. She wrote on his headstone, "the meaning of life is to put meaning into it." When I snapped out of my spiral, I decided to go for it and accept the challenge of getting a college degree. I worked as a bouncer at night time and worked in my workbooks during the daytime on campus. Unfortunately, I also lost my mother and grandfather during my journey as a GCC student. But I still accomplished my mission to honor them. Though they will not see me graduate and transfer, I know I made my family proud. Life is just as much of a test as our issued homework assignments. Quitting is not an option. One must always prevail. My next mission is to study to be a veteran counselor. I want to contribute to help the next generation of struggling warriors, just as the GCC staff has helped me. It is an honor to be a VAQ.
I was a young and committed cadet, and I wanted to put all of my focus on training to be a soldier someday. A life long dream and a family tradition. So I never had a chance to play football due to time conflicts with the other program I was in. I achieved 1 out of 2 of those goals. Fast forward almost a decade, I was a 27-year-old former soldier and seasoned veteran of a foreign war turned college student (I had a late start at GCC). I impulsively decided to erase my regret of not having a chance to play football. I tried out for the team and did my best to keep up with everyone who was a lot younger than me and years of experience playing football. I learned all of the ropes from scratch and eventually earned my place on the team as a nose tackle. I also made new friends that I will never forget, and even got to be coached by former NFL player, coach Lester Townes. I guess my most memorable moment was at the very beginning. When I decided to erase an old regret.
"The meaning of life is to put meaning into it."
My hope is that with this we can help with the financial burden this family will have while he is recovering from his injuries.
Cameron is currently in his second year at California State University, Northridge. When he graduated from Glendale, he wrote this to inspire future veterans to continue with their education.
"Many years ago, I served my country and volunteered for service in Afghanistan. That seemed like a piece of cake to me, because I was very confident in myself and my team of fellow soldiers. I never once imagined myself as a college student at the time. For my entire life, I never thought I was smart enough for college. I listened to the people who told me I couldn't do it. I instead chose the military right after high school. After losing one of my best friends in Afghanistan and coming close to losing my own life several times, I broke into a very deep, alcohol-induced depression working as a nightclub bouncer for a living. It was the mother of my friend who was killed in action that helped me on my feet. She wrote on his headstone, "the meaning of life is to put meaning into it." When I snapped out of my spiral, I decided to go for it and accept the challenge of getting a college degree. I worked as a bouncer at night time and worked in my workbooks during the daytime on campus. Unfortunately, I also lost my mother and grandfather during my journey as a GCC student. But I still accomplished my mission to honor them. Though they will not see me graduate and transfer, I know I made my family proud. Life is just as much of a test as our issued homework assignments. Quitting is not an option. One must always prevail. My next mission is to study to be a veteran counselor. I want to contribute to help the next generation of struggling warriors, just as the GCC staff has helped me. It is an honor to be a VAQ.
I was a young and committed cadet, and I wanted to put all of my focus on training to be a soldier someday. A life long dream and a family tradition. So I never had a chance to play football due to time conflicts with the other program I was in. I achieved 1 out of 2 of those goals. Fast forward almost a decade, I was a 27-year-old former soldier and seasoned veteran of a foreign war turned college student (I had a late start at GCC). I impulsively decided to erase my regret of not having a chance to play football. I tried out for the team and did my best to keep up with everyone who was a lot younger than me and years of experience playing football. I learned all of the ropes from scratch and eventually earned my place on the team as a nose tackle. I also made new friends that I will never forget, and even got to be coached by former NFL player, coach Lester Townes. I guess my most memorable moment was at the very beginning. When I decided to erase an old regret.
"The meaning of life is to put meaning into it."
Organizer and beneficiary
Jolie Morris
Organizer
Burbank, CA
Evelyn Thompson
Beneficiary