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SPRING VALLEY, Colorado — When a severe back injury kept Jerry Evert from continuing his occupation as a plumber six years ago, the fact that he only possessed an eighth grade education meant that his prospects for finding a new career were grim.
“I didn’t want to be on public assistance or take disability,” said Evert, a 12-year Glenwood Springs resident who recently relocated to Carbondale.
After he was injured, he entered the vocational rehabilitation program through the Colorado Division of Employment Job Service Center in Glenwood Springs, where it was recommended that he go back to school.
“I never imagined going to college,” said Evert, who quit school after eighth grade while growing up in Pennsylvania, but did obtain his GED while in the military.
“School and I were like oil and water … nobody in my family had ever gone to college,” he said.
That all changed when he was referred to the Colorado Mountain College Glenwood Center Learning Lab four years ago, where the technicians motivated and encouraged him to embark on his education journey.
Evert, at age 46, joins 89 graduates who will be earning associate degrees and occupational certificates at the CMC Roaring Fork Campus graduation ceremonies, which honor graduates from the Spring Valley, Glenwood and Lappala centers. The ceremony begins at 10 a.m. today in the student center gymnasium at Spring Valley.
Evert is also one of nine students nominated for the college’s Outstanding Student Awards. Three students will be chosen to receive the awards at today’s graduation ceremonies.
After taking care of his medical needs, Evert got a job driving a school bus which enabled him the flexibility to take college classes.
He remembers days when he was in incredible pain due to his back injury. But he still managed to make it to class, even if he had to lay flat in the back of the classroom.
“It was tough, and there were so many times when I wanted to just stop,” Evert said. “But whenever I said that, there would always be those few instructors who would say, ‘be patient, just give it another semester …
“I can’t begin to express how grateful I am to all the staff and the people involved who were also patient with me, and helped me get to this point,” he said. “The back injury really put me down, and nothing but good has come out of it.”
Evert plans to continue his education at Mesa State College, and one day would like to get a job in education or social work, perhaps assisting with the elderly in some way.
“I really enjoy sitting and listening to their stories, and I’d like to go into some kind of work that will help them get what they deserve after all they’ve given in their lives,” Evert said.
Evert also met his new wife, Ligia, while attending CMC. The two were married last September in the parking lot at CMC’s Glenwood Center on Blake Avenue.
The public is invited to attend today’s graduation ceremony. CMC President Dr. Stan Jensen will give the commencement address, and a reception is planned in the cafeteria following the ceremony.
Contact John Stroud: 384-9160
jstroud@postindependent.com
“I didn’t want to be on public assistance or take disability,” said Evert, a 12-year Glenwood Springs resident who recently relocated to Carbondale.
After he was injured, he entered the vocational rehabilitation program through the Colorado Division of Employment Job Service Center in Glenwood Springs, where it was recommended that he go back to school.
“I never imagined going to college,” said Evert, who quit school after eighth grade while growing up in Pennsylvania, but did obtain his GED while in the military.
“School and I were like oil and water … nobody in my family had ever gone to college,” he said.
That all changed when he was referred to the Colorado Mountain College Glenwood Center Learning Lab four years ago, where the technicians motivated and encouraged him to embark on his education journey.
Evert, at age 46, joins 89 graduates who will be earning associate degrees and occupational certificates at the CMC Roaring Fork Campus graduation ceremonies, which honor graduates from the Spring Valley, Glenwood and Lappala centers. The ceremony begins at 10 a.m. today in the student center gymnasium at Spring Valley.
Evert is also one of nine students nominated for the college’s Outstanding Student Awards. Three students will be chosen to receive the awards at today’s graduation ceremonies.
After taking care of his medical needs, Evert got a job driving a school bus which enabled him the flexibility to take college classes.
He remembers days when he was in incredible pain due to his back injury. But he still managed to make it to class, even if he had to lay flat in the back of the classroom.
“It was tough, and there were so many times when I wanted to just stop,” Evert said. “But whenever I said that, there would always be those few instructors who would say, ‘be patient, just give it another semester …
“I can’t begin to express how grateful I am to all the staff and the people involved who were also patient with me, and helped me get to this point,” he said. “The back injury really put me down, and nothing but good has come out of it.”
Evert plans to continue his education at Mesa State College, and one day would like to get a job in education or social work, perhaps assisting with the elderly in some way.
“I really enjoy sitting and listening to their stories, and I’d like to go into some kind of work that will help them get what they deserve after all they’ve given in their lives,” Evert said.
Evert also met his new wife, Ligia, while attending CMC. The two were married last September in the parking lot at CMC’s Glenwood Center on Blake Avenue.
The public is invited to attend today’s graduation ceremony. CMC President Dr. Stan Jensen will give the commencement address, and a reception is planned in the cafeteria following the ceremony.
Contact John Stroud: 384-9160
jstroud@postindependent.com
