One day, while hurling through space on a rock… :One day, while hurling through space on a rock… By: James Chenevert Date: August 31, 2009 Class: INTD112-0903B-36 Colorado Technical University Online


Slide 3:My life was, at one time, fairly well planned and well established . I was successful , comfortable and happily married with two incredibly bright and beautiful children…then the winds of change forever altered my reality, my perceptions and my life… We interrupt your regularly scheduled program…


Slide 5:Five years ago… I was seeking out credentials through a degree in Criminal Justice from CTUO, with a long held dream of enrolling at Boston University to receive my Masters… and was deeply concerned and insecure I was only going to prove out to be an intellectual fraud. I was at a crossroads in my life, having to seek out a new interpersonal identity because what I had spent my life to become… I no longer was and wouldn’t be again. I was bringing many, long chapters of my life to a close and I began writing a new one


Slide 6:I was also engaged in an on going, Twenty-Five year research into the history of that which ails us as a society, as a nation, and as a race, the Human One. I was deeply fascinated and engrossed in the studies of Human Origins and Antiquities. I was seeking out understanding and answers to issues and questions that most have only scratched the surface of, if at all, and main stream academia and religion had only provided more confusion to. I was discarding a deeply ingrained and indoctrinated belief system, all of which turned out to be untrue, wrong or a lie.


The times of our lives... :The times of our lives... I am completely amazed how quickly these last Five years have gone by. Attending classes online at CTU led to my finally getting to work in a new career as I took my degree and Professional Certificates I obtained from Colorado Technical University and immediately found placement at a Juvenile Drug Outreach Program in Boston. Goal Setting, Time Management and Personal Planning, all of which I learned and mastered at CTU paid off in a myriad of ways, both personally and professionally.


Slide 9:I can’t believe I am almost finished with my Masters Degree in Psychology from Boston University. I never could have imagined, not in my wildest of dreams, the opportunities that would present themselves to me the day I started the enrollment process, over the phone, with Elizabeth from Admissions at Colorado Technical University. My goals and accomplishments seem to somewhat pale in comparison to the decision that were made the day I became a student at CTUO. As I look out over the Charles River, I remember the path that led me back to Boston…


There’s a Thousand roads up this mountain… :There’s a Thousand roads up this mountain… I received my Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice from Colorado Technical University. I moved to Boston, Massachusetts with my girlfriend, our two sons and a 100 pound wolf from Tacoma, Wa. I was hired as a teen/adult drug counselor in an Neighborhood Teen Outreach Program I was accepted into the Graduate Program of Human Development in the Psychology Department at Boston University…GO TERRIERS !!! Currently pursuing a Teaching Fellowship at B.U.


The world in which we live :The world in which we live Presently I am working at a 24 hour hotline that provides teens and their parents with accurate, up to date drug information and help in the case of an accidental/intentional overdose and medical attention is required. I am continuing my studies at Boston University, enrolled in the Graduate Program in Human Development in the Psychology Department I am very happily married to a best-selling author and we live in Boston along the Charles with our two Autistic boys; my son Jayson, 21,who is a brilliant Animator and Virtual Reality software creator attending UMASS Boston and my wife Deana’ son Charles ,16, a brilliant Mathematician and Engineer who is on his way to MIT under a full scholarship.


My Feelings :My Feelings Looking back on the past 5 years I feel…hmm, this may be a seriously difficult to articulate. If I am to assume this all played out in reality, as it now plays out in my thought process and the things I deeply, have to overcome to be successful at making any of this actually happen, I would believe if I was able to accomplish this Personal Plan the effect on me would be as profound and as life altering as the events that led me to enroll at Colorado Technical University Online in the first place.


: This wasn’t just a career change. This was a whole new way of thinking, of learning and it started immediately with INTD112 and Amy Lisak. In just the first weeks, I learned things about myself and became aware of things that I would have never experienced had I not taken those first steps with Colorado Technical University Online.


Reaction of Family and Friends :Reaction of Family and Friends I would like to be able to say that I am amazed by all that you have accomplished over the past five years, but I never doubted you could do this. The things you had to endure and overcome to get here are amazing, but your success is not. Congratulations on your achievements, you have worked very hard for them. I am proud to be your family, your friend, and your love then, now, and always.-Deana Case June 2014


Faith is not…believing in something regardless of the evidence… :Faith is not…believing in something regardless of the evidence… I didn’t believe I was capable of letting go of who I was to find out who I had the potential to become. Learning to trust myself to see this endeavor through to its final success, to not run or give up was a struggle. With new abilities come new expectations for life, possibilities can become overwhelming when you are trying to figure out which road to take.


Slide 16:“The Road Not Taken” Two roads diverged in a yellow woodAnd sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stoodAnd looked down one as far as I couldTo where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fairAnd having perhaps the better claim,Because it was grassy and wanted wear;Though as for that, the passing thereHad worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally layIn leaves no step had trodden black.Oh, I kept the first for another day!Yet knowing how way leads on to way,I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sighSomewhere ages and ages hence:Two roads diverged in a wood and I—I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference. ( Robert Frost 1920 )


Faith is…doing something regardless of the consequences… :Faith is…doing something regardless of the consequences… This is going to sound like a strange, conflicting piece of advice but…get over your arrogance without losing the belief that you are capable of doing this. The work and learning curve ahead of you is daunting at best but don’t lose sight of just how much you love to learn from others and how much you have to offer in return. Stay focused…Slow down and let the learning process happen and come to you naturally.


: AND HEY…WOULD YOU FIGURE OUT A WAY TO GET ORGANIZED… YOU’RE DRIVING ME… CRAZY !! HELLOOOO !!


Slide 19:( J. Chenevert 2009 ) The Beginning….


Music ByCrosby, Stills and Nash :Music ByCrosby, Stills and Nash