Jhamir Harrison ’23: ‘The tenacity to keep trying’ takes him over the finish line

The “tenacity to keep trying” took Jhamir Harrison across the finish line to achieve his dream of obtaining a higher education degree at Caldwell University. “That is the one thing I always told myself. I don’t care how I do it. I’m going to graduate.”   And he did, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with a minor in accounting on May 21. “Caldwell has prepared me to be ready to go out there in the world, to build myself … to support my family  and do everything I want to do in life.”   

One of those goals is to work in the accounting field. In his senior year Harrison interned at a small accounting firm. “I like to see how people make money. I like to see what people do with their money.”   

Life before college was not easy for Harrison. He had attended four high schools due to family illnesses and finances while sometimes working two jobs. During his senior year of high school he worked hard to get straight A’s. When he visited Caldwell and met the Educational Opportunity Fund staff, he knew the University was the right fit. “It was a big blessing.”   

After starting college, attending classes and talking to professors, Harrison realized business and accounting were the best disciplines for him. He engaged in activities on campus as a member of the fraternity Psi Sigma Phi and the Black Student Union while also holding down jobs, including an overnight job in his junior year. Caldwell, he said, “has given me the drive to get assignments done and activities done.” The EOF staff and his professors were supportive. “It was hard but I always had someone to talk to. Even though I felt alone at some points, I was never truly alone. I always had someone I could reach out to.” One of the skills he learned in college was “time management and being able to knock things off step by step.” 

Harrison is working in the University’s EOF office and hopes to get financially prepared to apply for graduate school. “The biggest things I have taken from Caldwell are the knowledge of my field, and the people and the experiences that I have encountered along the way.” He is aiming to become the best version of himself and eagerly anticipates what the next chapters of life will bring. He says he hopes to grow spiritually and financially and in his family life—and to share his story: “Overcoming everything I went through and to tell others, ‘You can do it too because I did it.’”