ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
Now for the story of a new college graduate who pushed through many roadblocks before collecting her diploma. Colorado Public Radio's Jenny Brundin reports.
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KAITLIN MCCORMICK: I stand before you today not just as a graduate.
JENNY BRUNDIN, BYLINE: Kaitlyn McCormick, wearing black graduation robes, her hands shaking slightly, is talking to a thousand of her classmates.
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MCCORMICK: Honestly, there were days I was barely hanging on.
BRUNDIN: She's giving her college's commencement speech.
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MCCORMICK: I was working full-time, raising a child on my own and navigating a world that doesn't always see or hear people like me.
BRUNDIN: People like her - a deaf woman. McCormick was born with a genetic disorder that includes deafness. She has two cochlear implants now that help her hear and sometimes uses a sign language interpreter.
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MCCORMICK: The truth is, this wasn't my first attempt at college.
When I went to the first college, I had no idea what I wanted to do.
BRUNDIN: She dropped out, tried a second and third time but still wasn't able to finish.
MCCORMICK: I didn't have the finances or the support system to complete my college education.
BRUNDIN: At a call center job, she heard about a programming language. Then a trip to a thrift store changed everything.
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MCCORMICK: I picked up a used programming language book at a thrift store, just hoping to get promoted. I didn't know it then, but that spark would light the fire that brought me here.
BRUNDIN: But it would be a while. McCormick became a single mom. At a new job, she learned about data engineering and knew it was time to go back to school. As a full-time working mom, she enrolled at the fully online Colorado State University Global.
MCCORMICK: I got overwhelmed. So I reached out to Kailyn. Sorry.
BRUNDIN: She tears up. Kailyn is her best friend who has a disease that caused her to lose her hearing, the use of her legs and her speech. She wasn't supposed to live past 19. She's now nearly 40 with multiple degrees.
MCCORMICK: And Kailyn - she sent me those messages. She would remind me.
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MCCORMICK: Don't give up the rest of your life. My time is limited here. But you have the gift to not give up.
She says, you have the gift to not give up. That's what makes me cry every time I talk about it.
BRUNDIN: McCormick kept going and made it all the way to the podium.
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MCCORMICK: Congratulations, class of 2025. We did it.
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BRUNDIN: McCormick got her bachelor's degree in management information systems and business analytics.
MCCORMICK: It's a sense of fulfillment. It's a sense of achievement.
BRUNDIN: For NPR News, I'm Jenny Brundin.
(SOUNDBITE OF CHANCE THE RAPPER SONG, "CHILD OF GOD") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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