Student Profile: David Tepper

If David Tepper was planning to be an astronaut, he would surely be headed to the moon. But this Reynolds 2022 grad is tracking a different trajectory: After graduation David was accepted at both UVA and W&M. UVA offered him a full ride, and he didn’t hesitate to get onboard. 

“I’m currently attending UVA as a 3rd year,” David wrote, “I just finished their summer language institute for German so knocked out my language requirement, it was four semesters worth of German language and material in a total of 8 weeks. I am a dual Biology and Neuroscience major, and will be continuing on to graduate school after this, the goal is to earn my PhD. And I’m currently in the works for a research position here at UVA with a genetics professor studying Stem Cells.”

David started at Reynolds in 2017, and four years later in 2022 he earned his Associates of Science with a Science Specialization, and a concentration in Biology, and his Associates of Math and Science Teacher Preparation, again with a concentration in Biology.

David extends special thanks to Dr. Bryan Rhodes, Dr. Peter Latartara, Dr. Groover, Professor Swanlund, and Professor Weaver, and of course Daniel from Math Central, for all their amazing expertise, mentorship, and during his time at Reynolds. "I wouldn’t be here without any of them," he says.

Here is David’s story in his own words. It might be longer than the usual profile, and you might be tempted to brush it aside, but this one is well worth the read. You can choose.

We all come from hundreds of different backgrounds, different cultures, places, demographics, ages, and mental states. A great friend I made at Reynolds was from Egypt, and was in college early. Another friend was from Ethiopia and following the “traditional” college timeline. Another was an AP student, graduated high school early, and only needed a year of Reynolds to complete her associates and move on. Another was in his late 20’s and was post military. 

I myself? I would be considered a “non-traditional” college student. Is that a bad thing? No! It means I didn’t go to college immediately after high school, so I’m a little older. And that’s going to fit the mold of many, many people! High School was an interesting time for me. I had heart surgery, my father passed away, I had to deal with moving from my childhood home, and a surgery my senior year that didn’t go as planned and left me in the ICU for a week. Needless to say, I needed a break! So I took two years off between high school and college. I needed to grow, mature, find my place, earn some money, help my family, and just take time for myself. And boy am I glad I did it! 

Seriously! If it wasn’t for taking that time, I honestly don’t know where I’d be. When I graduated high school I wanted a theatre degree, and wanted nothing more than to be on a stage. And although there is nothing wrong with that path, I’m much happier now than I was, and am in a better place academically! I worked retail, sales, early education, was a camp counselor, and worked in veterinary medicine. I got A LOT of experience, and it really helped me recognize who I was, and what I wanted. Plus earning a credit score of 800, and being debt free wasn’t bad either! 

And then I got accepted to both UVA and W&M, two schools my 2.3 GPA high school self would never have dreamed of going to, and have Reynolds, and it’s amazing professors, to thank for that! I am now on my way to earning a bachelors in Biology, and Biochemistry, and furthering my journey to my doctorate! “The journey of a thousand miles starts with one step,” has never wrung more true to me. 

I always doubted myself, and my abilities. And starting out at Reynolds, I kept second guessing if I was even the right person to be in STEM. I mean, I can’t do math! At least so I thought. When I started at Reynolds I had to take MTE 6-9 just to prepare myself for the pre-calculus requirement. I was so embarrassed to say that around my STEM friends who were already in Calculus 1. I had a panic attack and dropped out of the first pre-calculus class I took, after the first day too… But I then found the confidence to do it the following semester, thanks to my amazing academic advisor, and those friends I was so embarrassed to be open with. And you know what, I got an A+! The kid who failed high school Algebra, got an A+ in pre-calculus! What!? Then I moved onto Calculus… and failed… in my defense I got injured and missed A LOT of classes. But did I quit? No! I took it again the following semester and BOOM! A+ again, and even helped four of my classmates study and get A’s and B’s. Crazy right? I was now the friends I looked up to but for new friends, with the same insecurities I had. 

 So, why did it take me so long to graduate from community college? Four years is double the time it should take right? Well, yes. The “ideal” path is two years to earn your associates degree. But if there is one thing I’ve learned, life isn’t about being ideal, it’s about being adaptive and flexible. So, was it because I added a second degree? No. I added the second degree because I wanted to, and it only involved taking two extra courses to do so. The reason is during my time, I got injured, had medical issues, and had to work full time to support myself. All these things slowed me down, or put a complete halt on my journey. But I keep reminding myself of what a physics professor at Reynolds told me, “It’s not about passing the class, or earning the degree. It’s about learning something. It’s about growing.” 

 So did it take me a while to get from high school graduation to community college graduation? Yes. Will that mean I’m older than all my high school friends who are already working, or in their grad schools? Yes. Is that ok? Yes! Life is going to be different for every single person who walks the halls of Reynolds, and every other college around the world. Never feel insecure about who you are, where you are, because no one is a one to one. 

 Be confident. You can, and will, make it in whatever program you strive for, just plan, and be strategic. Be strong. There will be difficult classes, and hard times, but you can pull through and succeed. Every Nobel Prize winner, inventor, doctor, scientist, and more, have been where you are. What separates you and them is nothing more than the time spent studying, but this time you have the advantage. 

 I want you to have the same critical advice now that I gained from professors during my time at Reynolds:

“Too many people focus to much on passing, and to little on learning. If students would just focus on studying, and less on what they need to pass with the grade they want, they’d naturally get the grades they’re looking for.” 

 “Understand every word. Don’t just read. Don’t just take notes. Understand what is being said. Rewrite in your words, not the words already written.”

 “Everyone has a sucky first draft. The first draft isn’t meant to be perfect. It’s meant to get ideas on paper.”

“Just breathe. One bad grad isn’t the end of the world. Even surgeons have gotten F’s in the past. Just breathe.”