By Andy Allred, Guest to Young Invincibles

A decade ago I was a high school dropout, living out of my car and working as a cashier at a fast food restaurant. Dropping out of high school became a big regret and for a long time, I thought I couldn’t get away from the consequences of that decision.

I spent more than three years working really hard to get out of my tough situation. I volunteered at community centers and I took on jobs beyond working as a cashier – first in sales, and then in construction. I met several successful people who had remarkable stories of overcoming challenges in their life. They helped me realize that I could get my GED, and go back to school.

Roughly 7 percent of 18 to 24 year-olds like me dropped out of high school in 2014, according to a Pew Research Center study of Census data.

Fortunately, my life turned around.

I never took the GED program. I took a GED test and passed, and then discovered a pathway program through Maricopa Community College that made all the difference.

I took classes for the next three years at community colleges in Arizona – courses that were required for me to get my Associate’s degree and then remedial courses, too, to make up for the classes I never finished in high school.

I graduated summa cum laude from ASU, became a published researcher, and got accepted to Baylor College of Medicine’s PA program, which is one of the top academic programs in the country.

Today at the South by Southwest conference – coined SXSWEdu – I had the privilege of meeting and hearing Dr. Jill Biden speak on strengthening America’s community college programs and as a former community college student myself, I was deeply impressed by her commitment to pathway programs like the one I benefited from.

It’s clear that Dr. Biden brings compassion to her work: she still teaches at a community college and mentors single women who are going back to school.

As Dr. Biden mentions, too many students are unaware of all of the opportunities available today. Nearly half of the 18 million undergraduate students in our country go to community college. Yet less than half of these students will graduate or transfer to a four-year school within six years.

She spoke about improving these community college programs to help young people land good jobs, provide for their families, and strengthen their communities, states, and ultimately the United States.

Having begun my pursuit of higher education from a challenging place, I am so excited to know that there is such a strong advocate for students and programs that can change lives.