{"id":319,"date":"2019-07-17T18:18:09","date_gmt":"2019-07-17T18:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wcsu.wpengine.com\/news-archives\/davidstrout\/"},"modified":"2019-07-17T18:18:09","modified_gmt":"2019-07-17T18:18:09","slug":"davidstrout","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/news-archives\/davidstrout\/","title":{"rendered":"From high-school dropout to the WCSU President\u2019s Award"},"content":{"rendered":"
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DANBURY, CONN. <\/strong>\u2014 David Strout could have found many reasons to give up on his quest for a college education at WestConn, from his academic difficulties in high school to his family\u2019s financial problems, his mother\u2019s illness and his need to find work to pay the bills.<\/p>\n

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But Strout, of New Milford, is no quitter \u2014 and this year the university has recognized the WestConn senior for his determination, tenacity and perfect academic record as the recipient of the WCSU President\u2019s Award. In May 2009, he expects to cap his journey at WestConn when he graduates with a bachelor\u2019s degree in professional writing, with a creative writing option.<\/p>\n

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Strout\u2019s remarkable path to the President\u2019s Award has an improbable beginning, when, after struggling in high school for a variety of reasons, he quit school in his junior year and found a full-time job in construction. A short time later, Strout took a General Educational Development (GED) test and passed with a nearly perfect score.<\/p>\n

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Then he thought about WestConn, where he filled out an application and handed in letters of recommendation. In light of his less-than-perfect academic career, Strout was offered a probationary semester, which didn\u2019t offer financial aid.<\/p>\n

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\u201cSince I couldn\u2019t get financial aid, that meant going to school was no longer on the table,\u201d Strout said. Rather than give up, Strout persisted to tell university officials that he would make an ideal student and was given a chance in the fall of 2005 as a full-time student. He earned a 4.0 grade-point average in his first semester.<\/p>\n

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But the struggles for Strout weren\u2019t over. His mother suffered a series of layoffs from her professional jobs and then was diagnosed with cancer. Strout worked several jobs while attending classes to help her pay bills. In early 2006 his mom \u2014 his biggest supporter \u2014 became more ill and was in and out of the hospital a lot. She died that April. <\/p>\n

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Strout said he had two weeks to move out of the apartment he shared with his mother. He wound up sleeping on friends\u2019 sofas and moving around a lot. He once again thought about quitting school to find a full-time job.<\/p>\n

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Then he thought about his mom. \u201cShe would have been so unhappy to know that,\u201d he said. \u201cIf I could do anything for her, it would be to not let that go, to stay in school.\u201d <\/p>\n

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After a brief extension on his final exams, Strout finished the spring semester before the fall semester started. Since then he has received full scholarships to attend school.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI couldn\u2019t be here without financial aid,\u201d Strout said. He said the President\u2019s Award was the crowning glory. \u201cI look at the President\u2019s Award as \u2018You made it with flying colors.\u2019 At the beginning of this I aimed high and was unqualified. I got everything I aimed for and a 4.0. The capstone on all that has been the President\u2019s Award.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Strout said his experience at WestConn has changed his life. He\u2019s become a better writer and more informed about what\u2019s going on in the world from Iraq to the rain forests of South America. And he\u2019s met dedicated people who are \u201cfun to be around and value the college experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cThat academic atmosphere is one of my favorite places to be,\u201d said Strout. He said the professors at WestConn helped him to become who he is today. \u201cYou\u2019ll get back everything you put into it. The professors are there for the students and really care about teaching. You have so much leeway to make the most out of your experience here.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Western Connecticut State University offers outstanding faculty in a range of quality academic programs. Our diverse university community provides students an enriching and supportive environment that takes advantage of the unique cultural offerings of Western Connecticut and New York. Our vision: To be an affordable public university with the characteristics of New England\u2019s best small private universities.<\/em><\/p>\n

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DANBURY, CONN. \u2014 David Strout could have found many reasons to give up on his quest for a college education at WestConn, from his academic difficulties in high school to his family\u2019s financial problems, his mother\u2019s …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-319","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/news-archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/news-archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/news-archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/news-archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/news-archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=319"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/news-archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/319\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/news-archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}