When I received my letter from Temple University accepting me into the dual admissions program, I was ecstatic and slightly nervous. I entered the Community College of Philadelphia with the goal of transferring to Temple University to complete a degree in journalism.

This has been my dream for some time. I have been writing and regarded as the “community journalist,” but I never had a formal education in the field. I wrote by modeling past afterschool instructors. When I received that acceptance letter, I knew I could not only continue with my goal, but also finally get a formal education in journalism.

I was ecstatic that after finally graduating from CCP I would be able to continue with my plan. But I was nervous because I was not convinced at first that I would be accepted into the program. Surely something would go wrong and I would be turned away from the university once more.

Both my English professor Eleanor Cunningham and  my college counselor Lynda Shepherd  suggested that I enroll in the dual admissions program immediately upon my arrival at CCP. I applied. But after I submitted my application, and received no response from Temple or CCP, I began to worry.

And with that feeling, I became discouraged. It took months, and I am not exaggerating, until I finally received some type of notification from CCP that I was in the program. And after that, Temple followed.

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