It’s been more than a little while since I last posted, but in all fairness my life has taken a dramatic turn since the earlier months of the school year.. The month of September was spent feverishly trying to garner support for the Lenovo blog contest, adjusting to life as a graduate student and running out the remainder of my energy on the pavement. Needless to say by the time October rolled around, the cold weather gave me a chance to breathe, but only for a moment.
Part of the graduate program involves a leadership retreat weekend in the mountains in western Colorado. During this three day escape to the dead zones of all wireless devices which included a six hour trek by bus, two MBA classes separated into teams of twelve and spent the weekend harnessed into ropes courses, navigating terrain and topping mountains, repeatedly. Moments of rest were rare and usually spent in conversation about team and individual dynamics. I learned a lot about myself that weekend but that’s another story.
I returned home exhausted but strangely exhilarated to take on whatever came my way for the rest of the quarter, which was a lot, especially the minor detail of coming up with the necessary $20,286 in order for me to finish my year and my degree. Monday morning started out awful. I was greeted by a friendly email sent by the lovely people at the financial aid office that despite the fact the federal government accepted a graduate loan, they denied my request on a technicality. I was shit out of luck.
I called my dad, unable to fathom how I could possibly stay in school, my head already swimming with plans of moving out, finding a job and never finishing school… for me, the worst nightmare ever. As I delivered the capital punishment verdict on my masters degree to my father my email refreshed and up popped the most glorious sight I have ever seen: “CONGRATULATIONS WINNER OF THE $20,000 LENOVO UNIVERSITY OF BLOGGERS SCHOLARSHIP.” Just to make sure I wasn’t delusional, I opened it immediately and read through the whole thing making sure it wasn’t a mistake. Sure enough, it was addressed to ME, Kait Vinson.
At that point my dad was still on the line, offering suggestions on how to fix my dilemma, and he noticed I had gone silent. “Kait?” he asked, and I replied barely able to stammer, “Never mind Dad, I won…”
“You won what honey?”
“Dad, I freaking won, I won it all, I won the scholarship!”
“No way, you’re kidding me.. Really?! Congratulations! Oh man, you have to tell your mother..”
I heard him calling my mom to the phone and in the background I could hear her telling my dad it better not be bad news, she didn’t need any more bad news.
“Mom? Um, I won.”
“You won what sweetie?”
“Mom, I won the scholarship, the $20,000 scholarship!”
I couldn’t hold it together anymore, it hit me and I was screaming and crying and laughing all at once.. It was like suddenly the whole world turned upside down and was finally out for me instead of against me.
THE Check
~
I received the check in the mail a month later, and happily paid for my tuition, feeling so thankful for being so blessed. In the last weekend before the end of the blog contest ended, I went from the number 2 slot to the number 1 to win the grand prize. The reason? The amazing outpouring of support at the eleventh hour from none other than my grandfather and everyone touched by his passing. He lived only until the few days before the end of the contest and I was fortunate enough to be able to write about him in regards to my blogging and running journey and all my relatives emailed, facebooked, and shared my posts. My grandfather gave me one last gift which I will remember every day for the rest of my life: my last year of college and my dream of getting my International MBA, for which he and the rest of my family and friends will have my never-ending grad-itude.
Photographic Evidence: As insisted by my mother.
