Youngstown News
Campus News & Events
Not Just a Job But a Career
As a retired army veteran, Paul McCartney (pictured) knows a thing or two about setting your mind to a task and getting it done. "In the military you're told, ‘The mission is accomplished regardless,'" he states, "So I take that same mentality: my mission in every class is to graduate with a 4.0." As a student in the information systems engineering degree program at the Youngstown Campus, it's a mission that he's close to completing.
As a single dad with four kids enrolled in school, there is tough competition over grades and Paul has to stay on his toes to keep ahead of his gang. "My son gives me a lot of competition," Paul shares; "he's a perfectionist." Even so, Paul is proud to say that every term he's won the household prize of picking the restaurant for their family celebration.
Family rivalry aside, ultimately it means a lot to his kids to see him come home and work hard every day on his education. They tell him, "Dad, we're proud of you; we're going to make you just as proud of us." Now, he's actually inspired them to do better in school. For Paul, that's a reward in and of itself, especially because "I try to lead by example," he says. As a student, dad, football coach, active member of his church, and volunteer, leading by example is something he has a lot of practice in.
"[You can't] make excuses for not achieving what you want," he tells other people, "You [have] to dig down deep and get it." That ability to dig deep and find that drive and motivation is part of Paul's military training that has strengthened him as a natural leader. In fact, Paul was one of the student leaders from National College who helped with the statewide effort to restore funding for the Ohio College Opportunity Grant (OCOG) for career college students.
Learning perseverance isn't the only way that Paul's military training has served him in his education - with the Armed Services Recognition Grant that he receives from National College, his education here has been more cost efficient than any of the other colleges he looked into, and he has been able to avoid taking out student loans. Not only that, but Paul can tell that his education has already paid off.
Trained at National on the most up-to-date software, Paul is comfortable with technology that many companies are only just implementing. That's precisely why Paul chose the computer field: "[I want] not just a job, but a career," he states emphatically, "a job is week to week - I'm looking for a career that will get me through life."
That's another mission Paul is looking to accomplish in these next couple of years. But for now, when asked what he plans to do before graduation, Paul answers, "Keep my nose in a book." And with his characteristic resolute determination, he's that much closer to accomplishing his mission.
Paul is pictured above on the right with Ohio State Senator Joe Schiavoni. Senator Schiavoni visited the campus in December. Click here to read the December 11th issue of the National News regarding the Senator's visit.
