JCCC student Charles Hibbard won’t let a learning disability hold him back. Overcoming obstacles is something he knows all about. But don’t let his story fool you; he’s proud and grateful for all he has accomplished.

Coming from “the sticks” of Oklahoma, a young high school-aged Hibbard didn’t feel he received the assistance or encouragement he needed to excel in school. “I wasn’t a very ‘good’ high school student,” he said. “I was told I had a learning disability. I didn’t think college was something I could do.”  After struggling all the way to graduation, he didn’t even contemplate college and instead entered into the workforce.

After a few years working various jobs and a short stint in the military, Hibbard found himself unemployed and unhappy. He knew he needed to make a change, so he sought out not just a job, but a career.  His strategy was simple: find the type of work with the most Help Wanted ads in the newspaper and start applying. 

“Truck driving was the line of work with the most job listings, so that was what I was going to do,” he said. After years of hard work, Hibbard owned a successful trucking business. It wasn’t until a shoulder injury forced him out of the industry that he realized he had to make some big changes to his life. By this time living in Kansas, Hibbard and his wife researched area schools and programs of interest and decided that JCCC had the best program to meet his needs. 

“I could no longer do the job I had done for 25 years,” he said. “I knew I had to do something.”So Hibbard had to start with the most basic classes, building himself up for the more challenging college-level courses. It had been a long time since he had been a student.  “I’ve been to the Writing Center many times.  It’s been a big help to me,” he said.

To date, Hibbard’s biggest accomplishment in his academic career is having a paper he wrote published on the This I Believe website. Writing was one of the more difficult subjects for Hibbard, so seeing his words, hard work and dedication appear as a published essay on the website was rewarding. 

Hibbard once thought that a college degree was unattainable. Today, he is studying biotechnology and believes that “anyone can do anything they want if they are willing to make some sacrifices to get it done.” 

The essay details more of Hibbard’s life experiences and how his attitude toward goals and education has changed throughout the years. Read Hibbard’s full essay.