By Ashlee Chisholm  > Temple University/Photos By Hilary Sander

During his first few years of college, Jason Williams did not believe he had the intelligence and talent to complete his degree, resulting in a low GPA of 1.9.  “I lacked focus, and was unsure of my abilities to raise my grades,” Jason said. A minimum GPA requirement of 2.75 for Temple University’s study abroad program in Rome motivated Jason to focus more on his classes. By his junior year, Jason made the GPA requirement and was able to fulfill his dream of studying in Rome for a semester.

After his semester abroad, Jason became more involved in the Temple community by attending career-related conferences, serving on the Fox School of Business’ College Council as the Treasurer, and joining the American Marketing Association. Jason plans to graduate in the spring and currently maintains a 3.0 GPA. After graduation, he plans to enter the field of database management and is entertaining the idea of graduate school.

When asked what advice he would give to failing students he said, “Stick with it. Raising your GPA is one the hardest things you can do, especially if you are discouraged…it took a while for me to dig deep and realize I can do it.”

Whitney Williams (no relation) faced the same discouragement as Jason in the beginning of her college career at West Chester University. She struggled with lecture style teaching and eventually stopped focusing on her studies. Originally from Philadelphia, the environment at her university was a major adjustment as well; there is no public transportation, very few social events and the closest city is inaccessible without a car. After her freshman year, Whitney’s GPA plummeted to a dismal 2.4. Unhappy with her GPA, she became depressed and missed her friends and family in Philadelphia. Whitney did not feel she would be able to reach her full potential at West Chester University, so she transferred to Moore College of Art and Design, where she majored in illustration.

Transferring to Moore was the best decision I’ve made in college,” said Whitney. Upon arrival to Moore College of Art and Design, Whitney loved the beautiful campus and the charismatic professors who helped her reach her full potential. It was because of Moore’s professors that Whitney discovered her love for design; after this discovery, she began to take school more seriously.

Whitney felt that college life at Moore was much more diverse and vibrant than West Chester. There were numerous student organizations that piqued her interest and she also liked that Moore offered students opportunities to get their artwork published through different venues such as their annual magazine More, a student run gallery and local art galleries.

Whitney quickly learned from her ambitious peers that interning was the best way to learn more about illustration and design. Taking her peers’ advice, she started interning with several event-planning companies in Philadelphia, while raising her GPA to a 3.1 and serving on the student judiciary board for two years.  Whitney recently graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and plans to attend graduate school.

Havelock Ellis once said, “It is on our failures that we base a new and different and better success.” Jason and Whitney embody Ellis’s statement; though at one point their college careers seemed bleak, their failures ultimately influenced them to switch schools, travel to a foreign country, take on internships, improve their grades and graduate.