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The Athens State University Foundation conducted its annual Scholarship Luncheon in April. The event honors scholarship recipients and donors each academic year. This year's speaker was Holly Camp, a 2003 Athens State graduate. Ms. Camp earned her degrees in math and computer science, and is currently employed at Lockheed-Martin as a senior software engineer. She is a past recipient of the Darryll Allen Allfrey Memorial Scholarship - an endowed Foundation scholarship. Below are her remarks:
Returning to Athens State is like returning home. Old friends, familiar surroundings, and sweet memories. In this very ballroom I am reminiscent of the years I attended this luncheon as a student and scholarship recipient, anticipating my future and holding fast to my dreams.
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Holly Camp |
Where has this journey of a dream taken me, and where did that dream begin? If you had told me eleven years ago, when I thought my life was over, that it was just beginning, I would have never believed you. On Friday, February the 13th, my husband and I separated. Words cannot describe what a wreck I was. I had one four-year-old daughter, was six months pregnant with my second child, no money, no home, and no self-esteem. My life was over. My commitment to my marriage was for a lifetime, but my partner’s was not. I felt I had no choices; everything was being decided for me and I would just have to live with it all. I returned home to live with my mom and dad, who welcomed me home with open arms. We could do nothing but look at the pieces of my broken life,void of happiness and dreams.
The stress of the whole mess created some complications during my pregnancy and the birth of my second child. After she was born, as I was holding her a change began to take place. I saw my focus had been all wrong. Sure, my marriage was over, but my life was NOT over. I had two little precious beings that needed me; they were depending on me. This little baby I was holding surely did not ask to be brought into this mess. The question now was “what was I going to do?”"Where do I go from here?" I knew things would have to be different, and so the dream |
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began to grow; to simply rise up out of the brokenness. And then the healing process began; healing from the divorce and healing from the pregnancy. I found there were days I would smile. In fact, there were a few days where I actually felt happy. The source came from within because my circumstances had not changed. I was officially divorced, still had no money and little self-esteem.
Then it came time to make some important decisions. Was I going to go to work and try to make enough money to support my girls? This would mean full-time daycare. I knew I’d have to work at least two jobs at minimum wage to offset the cost of daycare. I’d never get to see them. At that time in their life, I felt I couldn’t leave them, so I looked for alternatives. After a little investigation, I learned I could get financial aid to go to school. My parents said they’d support me and watch the girls while I was in class. So, with a little determination and a lot of guts, I enrolled in some night classes at Calhoun Community College.
My first two classes were Intermediate College Algebra and Fundamentals of Public Speaking. (Let me say that speech class is coming in pretty handy about now!) I wasn’t too anxious about either of the classes. I had had algebra in high school and this was only “intermediate.” How hard could it be? Some review with a little new material shouldn’t be too hard. Well, I was so wrong. I knew I was in trouble when the teacher began reviewing prerequisite material that I didn’t know. I searched for help everywhere I could find it. I needed help with basic fractions and equations. |
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I had a LONG way to go. I had struggled with my homework so much, and now we were scheduled to have a test. I began to have doubts that I had made the right decision. The night before that first big test I had a talk with God. I told him that if I didn’t do well, I knew I should forget math and give up on this dream to go to college. But, I knew if I did well, I could succeed at anything I put my mind to. Well, I made an A! I wound up making an A for the class and my remaining classes at Calhoun. In 2000, I transferred to Athens State and was the recipient of the Darryl Allen Allfrey Memorial Scholarship.
If you had asked me when I graduated in 2003 if I had fulfilled my dreams, I would have answered you with a resounding yes! I was part of the 2002 All-USA College Academic First Team awarded by USA Today. Graduating with honors and a double major in mathematics and computer science, it was hard to imagine where this dream would next take me. And this is when I learned a very valuable lesson. A dream begets other dreams.
My girls and I lived with my parents in the home I grew up in the entire time I was in college. Never |
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designed for five, we lived there happily, but cramped. During this time my mother’s health began to decline drastically. She was confined to a wheelchair, but because our home was not accessible, she would hobble on canes between rooms. It got to the point where she was no longer able to do this and was completely confined to the bed. I expressed my dream of building a handicapped accessible house once I graduated in which she could roll from one room to another, and outside, too! Dad and I would dream of a bigger kitchen as we’d sip coffee. Two months after graduation in 2003, I began construction of a handicapped accessible home. In fall of 2003, we spent our first Thanksgiving in our new home. My mother finally had the freedom I had dreamed of. In fact, that first summer we spent there we marveled because she had a sunburn on her toes because she had spent so much time outside!
I could never decide what I wanted to be when I grew up. I considered law, medicine, marketing, and various other disciplines. My father’s dream was for me to go into engineering, science, or math-related field since I could almost be guaranteed a job after graduation. Six years post graduation from ASU, I am a Senior Software Engineer at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. Just last week I was promoted to Domain Deputy of our software group, answering all technical questions in the Domain Lead’s absence and providing technical software direction for our team. |
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It is not common for a person with only six years of experience to be placed in this type of leadership position. I believe it all began with my father’s dream and was realized because of the education I received from Athens State.
My mother passed away the day before Mother’s Day, two years ago. About a week before she passed away, we had our last late night talk. I knew her time was getting small and I told her that there was still so much more to do, and that we make such a good team. She smiled and said, “You know, I’ve always said that. But now, it’s time for you and your girls to pick up where we left off.” I’ve thought about that conversation many times since and now understand what she meant. “Don’t let our dream die.”
A dream begets other dreams. Everything I’ve stated today is proof of this. Let’s propose for a moment the demise of any of these dreams. What if my father hadn’t shared his engineering dream with me? What if I’d had no dream to build our handicapped accessible home? What if Ms. Allfrey had never dreamed of the impact the endowment of a scholarship would have on a student’s life? What if I had never even dreamed of attempting college? Scholarship recipients, faculty and donors: hold fast to your dreams. For as long as there is a dream, there is no end to the journey. |
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