Joshua, recent Nweda graduate

My name is Joshua Mironyuk, and I just graduated with an IT degree from UW Tacoma. I have worked with NWEdA since before my graduation from High School, and I would love to share with you how this organization has inspired me to face my hopes and dreams and to fully realize my potential. 

But first, a little background on me: I grew up here in Washington, with parents who moved all the way from Soviet Ukraine to start a new life in the states. I grew up balancing everything that the States had to offer, while still holding true to my culture. I don't remember much from pre-school and kindergarten. Shocking, I know. But my mom still tells me to this day how much of a trouble-maker I was; getting into fights, leaving school during instruction. I didn’t understand the value of education and saw it as busywork, as many children likely do. 

However, things began to change once I entered primary school. By the third grade, my mother, my brother, and I moved away to Colorado Springs after a divorce between my parents. I was still young, still developing when all the changes started to unfold, from 4th grade, all the way up to High School. Sometime around 2015, my family moved from Colorado back to Washington. However, our housing situation was difficult, and left us homeless for months until we finally got back on our feet, when I started my first years in high school. I really didn't pay much attention to my classes, to the point where by the final year of high school, I didn't have enough credits to graduate, and my GPA was an astounding 1.7.

There's not much of an excuse I can give on that part. I simply didn't want to do any schoolwork. That's when everything finally caught up to me. I was visiting the counselor who broke the news to me the year before graduation that there wasn't any way for me to get enough credits to graduate on time. At that point, the feeling of dread and regret really began to set in. All those days of slacking and neglecting my classwork resulted in me not only missing graduation with my friends, but not graduating entirely. 

Luckily, my counselor then referred me to a specialized academy known as "Open Doors", who have done nothing but incredible things to shift my views on education, and allowed me to graduate high school. 

That's not the only thing they've done for me, either. Upon hearing my interest in higher education, they were ecstatic to introduce me to Konto, an Education Advocate for Northwest Education Access.

When I first met Konto, I expressed my interest in detail with her in regard to pursuing higher education. There were so many potential paths I could take, so many different degrees and certifications, I really had no idea where to start. So, we spoke a little bit about my interests, and it didn’t take long before settling down on something related to the tech industry. With her help, I ended up deciding that a degree in IT would be the perfect choice. Immediately after, we worked together in getting my FAFSA completed. Having to do paperwork is always terrifying to me, so having someone to guide me through the process, including the paperwork for signing up to a college, was an immense help. 

Konto and NWEdA continued to keep in close touch with me as I furthered my education. She provided me with all the resources I needed and made sure to check in on me to make sure everything is right and on track.

Just knowing that Konto and NWEdA were still eager to help pushed me to reach my goals and achievements. I truly would not have gotten far in any of this without her help, or the help of NWEdA.

So where do I go from here? I finally got the degree I’ve studied endlessly for, and now it’s time to find a new goal to work towards. And that goal is to go even further in this career path, not just as an IT employee, but as an IT Specialist, then an IT Director, and beyond. The last thing I would ever want is to remain stagnant when I know further opportunities await me.