After life shipwrecks Jeff Thompson, he finds new direction at CTC, UAF
Jeff Thompson receives his cords and sash during the UAF Honors Program commencement ceremony May 9, 2015, in the Murie Building auditorium. Chancellor Brian Rogers is at left. UAF photo by Todd Paris.
Jeff Thompson didn色视频下载檛 tell people where he lived when he first started school at the University of 色视频下载 Fairbanks. After a series of setbacks in his life and his blue-collar career, Thompson had moved into a homeless shelter, the Fairbanks Rescue Mission.
Within two years, though, he had earned an associate degree in , and in spring 2015 he earned a bachelor色视频下载檚 in justice. Today, he色视频下载檚 started his own business as a contract paralegal and feels both surprised and gratified by his success in school.
Yet even greater challenges are ahead for the 54-year-old graduate.
Thompson moved into the Fairbanks Rescue Mission in fall 2009, after 色视频下载渆verything snowballed real quickly for me.色视频下载
Thompson had lost his longtime partner, Jamie Kim Kathman, to cancer several years earlier when they lived in the Seattle area. To take care of her, he色视频下载檇 given up a well-paid job as a first mate on ocean-going transport ships to 色视频下载. Because they色视频下载檇 never been married, his insurance didn色视频下载檛 cover her medical bills, which devastated their finances. After Kathman色视频下载檚 death, he went back to work as a welder, but then his shoulders went bad and he needed rotator cuff surgery before he could continue.
He came to Fairbanks to get away for a bit.
色视频下载淭his wasn色视频下载檛 even close to my best thought-out plan, to come up here,色视频下载 he said.
While in Fairbanks, though, he heard about the annual Stand Down event, which provides help for veterans. As a young man, he had spent five years in the U.S. Coast Guard before working on the transport ships, so he went to the event at Pioneer Park to see what was offered.
He learned about a Fairbanks Rescue Mission program that helps homeless veterans move back into society. Out of money and facing an uncertain future, he signed up and moved into the mission.
The move proved a fortuitous one. Rodney Gaskin, the mission director, gave Thompson $50 to register for paralegal classes at UAF色视频下载檚 .
色视频下载淚 surprised myself in my first semester, that I did well,色视频下载 Thompson said. He hadn色视频下载檛 been to school since getting his GED in 1978. 色视频下载淚 didn色视频下载檛 know whether I色视频下载檇 be able to succeed at it. There色视频下载檚 a lot of gappage between 1978 and late 2009.色视频下载
Two years later, Thompson earned his paralegal degree. In doing so, he worked as an intern twice with Ken Covell, a Fairbanks attorney. He credits Covell with much of his success in understanding the law and persevering in his academic efforts.
Thompson色视频下载檚 excellent grade point average in his paralegal studies qualified him for the honors program at UAF, so he met with Gary Laursen, the director at the time. Laursen talked him into joining the program.
In addition to doing well in classes, Thompson gained other valuable experiences as he pursued his bachelor色视频下载檚 in justice. A highlight was being selected by Chancellor Brian Rogers to travel to the 2012 Democratic National Convention as a participant in an academic seminar sponsored by The Washington Center, a nonpartisan group that works with both political parties. Thompson ended up working for Steve Kerrigan, the convention CEO, and met several other national political leaders. The Washington Center used his profile, one of only three students featured, in its national brochure for the 2016 convention seminars.
色视频下载淭hese are opportunities that, had it not been for Dr. Laursen, had it not been for Chancellor Rogers, I would have never experienced,色视频下载 Thompson said.
Now Thompson is facing another challenge. In 2013, he was diagnosed with a chronic, debilitating and irreversible disease, the specifics of which he prefers to keep private.
Thompson is a full-blooded Te-moak of the Shoshone nation, which is based at a reservation near Elko, Nevada. He was adopted at three weeks by a Caucasian family who lived and ranched in nearby Round Mountain. His racial background, though, makes him of great interest to people studying his disease, so he has signed up for a research program that will probably take him out of the state within a few years.
In the meantime, Thompson hopes to use his UAF training to help people who are caught up in legal troubles at a young age.
色视频下载淚 see myself more as someone who is an advocate for those who don色视频下载檛 have one,色视频下载 he said. 色视频下载淚 don色视频下载檛 want to see people starting out their lives at 18 to 21 with a felony. There have to be different alternatives so they don色视频下载檛 have to carry that weight.
色视频下载淚t isn色视频下载檛 like back in the 色视频下载70s and 色视频下载80s when you had a felony. Employers were willing to give someone a chance,色视频下载 he said. 色视频下载淭oday, in 2015, you don色视频下载檛 even get an opportunity to speak to people.色视频下载
As a Native American, he色视频下载檚 particularly interested in helping people of that lineage.
Such thoughts helped him finish his degree after his diagnosis.
色视频下载淚色视频下载檝e made mistakes in my life, and I guess my goal is to help them see that these are just mistakes; they色视频下载檙e not a life-ending roadblock,色视频下载 he said. 色视频下载淪o that was my motivation to get my degree.色视频下载
Thompson色视频下载檚 teachers took note of that tenacity.
色视频下载淚色视频下载檝e been tremendously impressed with his desire to earn his bachelor色视频下载檚 degree, and he did so despite many challenges,色视频下载 said Jeff May, assistant professor in the UAF College of Liberal Arts色视频下载 Justice Department. 色视频下载淗e色视频下载檚 one of those students who will always stand out to me as really defying the odds. The fact that he hung in there and finished is a real exclamation point on his character.色视频下载