We’ve all heard it before, “Ain’t no mountain high enough, ain’t no valley low enough.” But what do the lyrics of this popular song really say? One might be led to believe after further listening that the overall theme behind this treasured song is that there isn’t anything that can stand in the way when it comes to love. If we ask recent graduate of Metropolitan State University of Denver; Jennifer Ann-Marie Sands whether she agreed with our interpretation, we think she would not only agree but also credit it to the reasoning behind much of her very own success.
On Saturday, May 14^, 2016, Sands graduated from Metropolitan State University of Denver Summa Cum Laude with a 3.95 GPA. As though an academic record such as Sands is not impressive enough, the bright scholar also managed to juggle raising 7 children, working full time, and participate in various student groups; one of which being Golden Key International Honour Society where she served as Vice President of Graduate Relations. All of this while struggling with deafness in both ears. How you ask?
The health care management major and accounting minor would tell you with the utmost confidence that it was no easy to feat. “There were some tears, and not much sleep, but I wasn’t going to let anything stop me,” said Sands. More important than her own determination would be the support of those who would climb mountains for her; her family. “This is not just my accomplishment,” says Sands. “It’s my family’s accomplishment. I could not have done it without a very supportive husband, amazing parents, and my kids along the way.” Experiencing the milestone of graduation is only going to mean that much more sharing it with family and friends.
Sands now, more than ever looks forward to the next chapter of her academic journey – starting a graduate program in the fall to study accounting with an emphasis in fraud detection. Her plans thereafter are to join the FBI as a Fraud Investigator helping those in need and with the support of her family and friends, its clear there isn’t a mountain high enough for Sands to climb.
Written by Dominique Sherrod