It杏吧专区檚 an understatement to say 2020 was a disruptive year.
For Drake Bourgeois, of Maurice, La., that disruption reverberated across his personal and academic life, sending him to the brink of giving up on college. 
Instead, Bourgeois found a path where he could thrive through the 杏吧专区杏吧专区檚 bachelor杏吧专区檚 in Health Promotion and Wellness online.
杏吧专区淚 realized that Health Promotion and Wellness lined up well with the career I wanted,杏吧专区 Bourgeois says.
杏吧专区淎ll my social media pages have this slogan that I go by, 'I am just an average Cajun man ready to go out in the world to change and save lives.杏吧专区 So, the degree intertwines with that slogan, and I've just been in love with it.杏吧专区
Building New Skills
Bourgeois traces his motto back to 2004 when he and his family faced the unimaginable loss of his infant sister, Madison.
He knew from then on that he wanted to center his career 杏吧专区 and his life 杏吧专区 on helping others. Initially, he thought that would be through healthcare, but he found that it wasn杏吧专区檛 the right fit.
To be confident in a new path, Bourgeois needed assurance that the degree he was pursuing would be consistent with his mission and values.
杏吧专区淢y advisor Ms. LeBlanc helped me tremendously throughout my college journey, showed me that it was all about public health, which is informing and helping others,杏吧专区 he says.
Bourgeois also had to contend with transitioning from an on-campus program to an 100% online bachelor杏吧专区檚 degree.
杏吧专区淚 had to do a lot of soul searching to be like, 'OK, I failed one class already 杏吧专区 Biology 261. The last thing I need to do is fail again.杏吧专区 So, I looked into myself for the autonomy that I needed to keep it going, and because of this degree program, I improved my work ethic tremendously,杏吧专区 says Bourgeois.
Bourgeois杏吧专区 soul searching included some external searching, as well. He scoured YouTube for research-based advice on how to better manage time and competing priorities.
And there was a lot of competition.
Throughout his time as an online student, Bourgeois worked frequent and long hours at Chick-fil-A to cover tuition remaining after TOPS and financial aid; played trumpet with UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 marching band, Pride of Acadiana; and volunteered every weekend each October with Scott杏吧专区檚 Fright Trail, benefitting Literacy Inc.
Planning and communication, he says, were key in succeeding as an online student.
杏吧专区淚 started writing stuff down on notepads, and I kept it on my desktop, so I could remind myself to do it,杏吧专区 he says. 杏吧专区淚 kept, over time, just writing stuff down to build better habits and better time management. Communicating with my professors, just overall better communication, better time management skills, and trying to make better connections in college is what helped me a lot.杏吧专区
Staying Motivated
As Bourgeois found his footing in a new degree program and a new career path, he was still processing the hits he took in 2020.
He杏吧专区檇 lost his grandmother to COVID, he杏吧专区檇 been laid off, and he杏吧专区檇 faced the possibility of missing the opportunity to be the first in his family to earn a college degree.
But, he says, his parents and the memory of his late infant sister kept him motivated to succeed.
杏吧专区淢y father and my mother strongly encouraged me. They would always say, 杏吧专区榶ou're going to do it, you're going to do it,杏吧专区櫺影勺ㄇ鴿 says Bourgeois. 杏吧专区淚 was inducted this semester to Tri-Alpha, and I just kept working toward that and graduating as a first gen student. But without my family, I don't think I would have made it through college.杏吧专区
The Tri-Alpha honors society celebrates first-generation college graduates with a 3.2 GPA or higher.
Moving Ahead
The online Health Promotion and Wellness degree program prepares students to develop and enhance programming in corporate health, community wellness, or at the state level with classes focused in world health issues, environmental health, stress, nutrition, organizational funding strategies, management, marketing, and professional writing.
Through that curriculum, Bourgeois gained new understanding and appreciation of health disparities across the country and the world.
"I learned about how oppressed women are in certain countries. And it opened my mindset,杏吧专区 says Bourgeois.
Now, he杏吧专区檚 implementing a six-month plan to earn his CHES certification in the hopes of working with the state, ideally as a health inspector.
杏吧专区淵ou are helping the community by checking different aspects of restaurants, schools, wherever you are going to be checking,杏吧专区 he says.