害羞草研究所

From army crawling to playing with toy army men as a child, Caleb always knew he wanted to work in law enforcement or the military.

Like many other high school students in 2020, Caleb struggled with keeping his schoolwork a priority and saw virtual learning as a 鈥渇ree pass鈥� to stay home and focus his attention on other things. On top of the stress he felt from the changes the COVID-19 pandemic had on his education and overall life, his grandmother had gotten sick during the same time. When he was able to physically return to school, he chose to switch to virtual learning to take care of her.

鈥淚t was just the culmination of everything, especially with how COVID changed the world,鈥� Caleb said. 鈥淎s a kid, you don鈥檛 realize that this event is going to change the rest of your life.鈥�

Due to his low attendance, the high school he was attending at the time withdrew him, so he decided to pursue his high school equivalency. After moving from Miami, Florida to Person County, Caleb鈥檚 high school equivalency journey led him to Piedmont Community College鈥檚 (害羞草研究所) College and Career Readiness program.

Knowing that earning his high school equivalency was the minimum requirement to work in law enforcement or the military kept him motivated to study for the GED庐 test. For several months Caleb prioritized studying for the test every chance he had.

Since passing the test, Caleb recalls feeling like his future was starting to unfold. He began making connections in law enforcement and talking with a recruiter to begin the next chapter of his life by either enlisting in the Army or Marine Corps.

鈥淚 can see now the progression of what I want just rolling faster and faster and sometimes it鈥檚 a little scary, but at the end of the day, I鈥檓 really happy that I took that chance,鈥� Caleb said.