Today@Sam Article
Senior Overcomes Adversity To Graduate 25 Years After Starting College
April 23, 2015
SHSU Media Contact: Aubrie Walker
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| Education has always been of the utmost importance to Eric Robinson. But being diagnosed with renal kidney disease and prioritizing his daughters' education over his own led Robinson to take a break from school that eventually became 23-years. This May, Robinson will finally achieve his goal of earning his diploma. —Submitted photos |
When Eric Robinson transferred to Sam Houston State University in January of 1990, he found that being a student and working full time took its toll on him. After almost two years of struggling, Robinson was hospitalized for kidney failure and diagnosed with end-stage renal kidney disease.
“I was born with one bad kidney, and then because I wasn’t eating or drinking properly, I dehydrated myself and ruined my other kidney,” said Robinson. “Those two years were the roughest times in my life.”
After being hospitalized for two months and put on dialysis, Robinson had to withdraw from school to pay off his medical bills.
“School was always important to me, but I had to be able to afford it,” Robinson said. “So I found a job and started working at my high school. After my marriage ended, I found out that my ex-wife was pregnant with my daughter, and taking care of that child became my main priority.
Robinson moved from one job to the next without having a problem finding a job or being held back by not having a degree.
“At that time you didn’t really need a degree, so since I was making almost six figures without one, I kept working, ” said Robinson.
In 2002 Robinson began working at Houston Community College, where, for the first time, he experience some challenges of not having a degree. Although he had been working for HCC for three years, and even taught Microsoft inside the Harris County Jail for the college, he did not have the right requirements when it was time to have a reevaluation.
Robinson left HCC and started working for Cooperate America as senior project manager for Dell Computers; he has stayed there for 15 years.
“It has always been my dream to pay for my children’s college and so far I have been able to help quite a bit,” Robinson said. “I have five girls and I have always told them, you don’t just have 13 years of school; you have 18. You are going to college.”
With his help, Robinson’s daughter Kanesha Patrick-Robinson went to SHSU from 2008 to 2013, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications and began to work at Enterprise Rent-A-Car where she became a management assistant. Another of Robinson’s daughters is attending the University of North Texas in Denton, majoring in political science.
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| Among the many jobs Robinson took to provide for his family and ensure his daughters went to college was as a part-time radio personality for the oldest black radio station in Texas—hosting "All That Jazz" at KCOH 1230 AM. |
His daughters’ success inspired Robinson to finish what he had always wanted to do. In 2012, Robinson returned to SHSU to complete his degree in business management. “I didn’t want my daughters going through the same things I went through going to school. I know how difficult that is,” Robinson said. “I didn’t know growing up that we were lacking anything. It wasn’t until I got to college and had to ask for money that I realized there was none to give. I would keep a dollar in my pocket for three weeks; people would bring me food and I had to learn to be creative.”
“It is so very important to me that our young people receive education,” Robinson said. “I say that I didn’t miss out on anything without my degree but how do I really know that, because I didn’t have it?”
“I was very happy to hear my dad was going back to school,” Kanesha said. “I know how much education means to him and was so proud he was going back to finish what he started.”
But Robinson’s return to higher education hasn’t been without challenges.
Sixteen years before he returned to get his undergraduate degree, he received a kidney transplant from his oldest brother. After eight years, Robinson found himself in need of yet another transplant. He remained on dialysis for one year before he found out his youngest brother was also a match.
In July, Robinson was put back on dialysis and Mondays and Wednesdays would be work and school, and then on Tuesdays and Thursdays would be work and dialysis. Fridays would be his only day free and that is when he got to spend time with his kids.
All semester he only missed one day, no matter how bad he felt.
“It is very important to me,” said Robinson. “When I get frustrated and tired and it gets overwhelming, I think about the times I really wanted to be here and I couldn’t be here.”
John Newbold, an associate professor in department of management and marketing, first met Robinson when he was in Newbold’s “International Marketing” class at The Woodlands Center.
“I took an immediate liking to him because he took an active interest in the class, would ask questions and contribute to the class discussion,” said Newbold. “He would often stay after class to further discuss class topics.
“I only recently learned that Mr. Robinson was undergoing dialysis treatments. I had no idea for over two years,” said Newbold. “Mr. Robinson has always been a cheerful, enthusiastic person. Even after his bad luck and misfortune, even after working hard and finishing school at night. He is a wonderful example of positive attitude and perseverance.
After all of this, Robinson is finally able to complete the journey he began in 1990. This May, he will be walking across the stage to receive his bachelor’s degree in business management.
“I was telling my daughter, I feel kind of giddy, excited a little bit,” said Robinson. “It is kind of silly for a 43-year-old man to be worried about getting his bachelor’s degree, but I am excited.”
Robinson has already been accepted into the master’s program at SHSU for August, and after that, he wants to get his doctorate at Rice University in Houston.
“When people ask why don’t you take a break, and I say I have already taken a break—23 years,” Robinson said. “No matter how much adversity comes in life, if it is something that you want to do then you should do it. There has been plenty of times I could have stopped but I said no.”
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