Only 30 percent of college students make it to graduation in the state of Texas.
One student from Texas A&M Central Texas , Andrew Cadran beat the odds graduating and landing a job in the field of STEM.
The journey for him like many others was not easy though.
“Since I had to play catch up ... I had to do, do five classes in the spring and fall and work full time while doing those five classes,” said Andrew.
He's walking across the stage to receive his diploma on Friday, and others who faced similar but unique challenges will do the same.
“My sister was in the military and so she was like this is an amazing place, its cheap, I moved from new jersey, it was a lot of crying but also it pushed me and motivated me to do better, and here I am, graduating with honors," Arelis Laboi said.
Many are moving to different states where the cost of tuition is easier to handle. The college board finding the cost of a college education in the U.S. at public institutions jumped by 35 percent in just two years.
In addition to the cost of private and public institutions rising at a rapid rate, the job market is also in hot water.
Andy Dugger, former military and now a program manager for Trideum stepped up to the plate to mentor students like Andrew.
“I would encourage people to look into the STEM area, there’s plenty of opportunities more than we have people to fill them," said Dugger.
His version of looking out put Andrew in the position to get hired with a full-time job, just weeks after graduation.
"So Andrew has been a great asset to the team, he’s worked for a few months with us as an intern and when he comes on full-time in January, he’s gonna be a Junior Program Developer," said Dugger.
Mentorships and internships are important especially now at a time when businesses are undergoing mass layoffs and hiring freezes.
