Every graduate has taken their own unique path toward moving their tassel. Here are just a few of their stories. The Liberty Journal congratulates all 2016 graduates who have now entered the world as true Champions for Christ.
Serving the deaf community
Bethany Steele makes the sign for “interpreter.”
Perseverance and commitment are two traits Bethany Steele will take with her as a member of the first graduating class from Liberty University’s undergraduate program in American Sign Language and Interpreting (ASLI).
Steele moved from the British Virgin Islands to Virginia during her sophomore year of high school. As she came across many hearing impaired children — at both her school and her church — she began to develop the desire to become a sign language interpreter.
Her older brother had graduated from Liberty, and she wanted to follow in his footsteps. In 2013, shortly after she enrolled, Liberty launched a Bachelor of Arts in American Sign Language degree program, which trained students to meet the requirements for the National Interpreter Certification exam and become professional interpreters. Steele was one of the first students to enroll in the ASLI program and found it rigorous — requiring commitment in and out of class.
In order to improve her interpreting skills, Steele started attending a local deaf church. She also completed her Christian service hours (a yearly requirement for all sophomores, juniors, and seniors) at Jill’s House in Vienna, Va., a full-service, overnight respite center that provides a safe, fun environment for children with intellectual disabilities.
“My journey has been amazing, and looking back I can’t help but see the Lord’s hand guiding me through every step,” she said. “I am extremely proud of my accomplishment as a member of the first graduating class of the ASLI program, and I could not have done it without my professors, who became far more than teachers — they were more like role models to me.”
Steele has accepted a full-time job as an interpreter at a public middle school. She will also continue her work at Jill’s House.
“As one of the very first graduates of the ASLI program, I get to be one of the first to tell people about Liberty’s program at my new job,” she said. “Coming from Liberty, I know that I am grounded in a solid foundation of truth and skill. I know how to shine the light of Christ in this field.”
Just 39 other schools across the country offer an ASLI degree, and Liberty is the only school in Virginia to do so.
‘Walking, talking, living, breathing miracle’
On April 7, 2015, Eric Hickson, studying through Liberty University’s online program, underwent emergency brain surgery. He had suffered a massive subdural hematoma (bleeding in the brain), the result of a fall at work that left him unconscious in November 2014.
Hickson, an Army veteran from Portsmouth, Va., endured two subsequent surgeries, one of which bruised the right-side sensory nerve section of his brain, leaving him unable to feel the left side of his body.
“The blessing is that there was no paralysis,” said his wife Donna Hickson, who retired from the Navy in 2001, the same year Eric retired from the Army. “He can move; he just can’t feel where his left foot lands.”
Hickson is left-handed and had to relearn balance, walking, and writing skills, using speech recognition software to write his papers and emails. He earned a Master of Arts in Human Services Counseling with a specialization in Military Resilience, graduating with a cumulative grade-point average of 3.16.
“Not bad after a couple of brain surgeries,” Donna Hickson said, noting that Eric suffers from short-term memory loss. “All I did was remind him, daily, to double and triple check his syllabuses to stay on time with submissions of his assignments, papers, and tests.”
Hickson began his coursework at Columbia Southern (Ala.) University, earning his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 2012. Coincidently, the last class Hickson took to finish his master’s degree at Liberty this spring focused on traumatic brain injuries (TBI).
“He wants to be able to counsel PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and TBI patients in the military,” Donna Hickson said. “He can definitely relate to them.”
The 54-year-old retired U.S. Army Sergeant First Class has been a model of perseverance and an inspiration to many. His wife considers him a “walking, talking, living, breathing miracle.”
“I get emotional when I think about it because it’s been a long journey,” she said, noting that the setbacks only made him more determined to complete his degree. “He’s got a new normal, but he’s healing, getting better every day, and he’s where God wants him to be. He’s just an example — an encouragement to everyone he meets.”
Wounded hero, conquering champion
An explosion in April 2003 left more than a destroyed military vehicle in its wake. The improvised explosive device (IED) thrown by two insurgents in Iraq forever altered the life of Liberty graduate Nicola Knox.
Though the former sergeant from New Jersey (originally Jamaica) survived the attack, it left permanent physical and emotional damage. The explosion left shrapnel in both of her eyes and required spinal surgery.
“That was where my real battle in life began,” said Knox, who has been awarded the Purple Heart. “I had two choices: give up or keep pressing on.”
By God’s grace, she chose to press on. Today, she is a proud college graduate, having earned an interdisciplinary degree from Liberty University, specializing in Christian counseling, social science, and business.
Not every day is easy, though. Knox has a rod in her spine and often gets headaches. But her faith in God helped her to overcome her physical and mental scars.
“I try not to let those things define me; I just always look at the positive and keep pressing on each day,” she said.
Knox added that her family — including her mother Winifred Dennis, husband Roderick Knox, 3-year-old daughter Abishai, and stepdaughters Alexis and Amber — has been a source of strength and encouragement.
“I am one of the lucky few because I have a good support system,” she said.
Knox served in the Army from 2001 until she received an honorable discharge for medical reasons in 2009. She also recently retired from a career in firefighting.
She credits her late grandmother, Elizabeth Henry, with having the greatest influence on her life. Henry emphasized the importance of a relationship with God and biblical wisdom, which Knox said ultimately led her to choose Liberty.
Throughout her studies, Knox said she developed a deeper faith and learned to apply biblical principles to her life. She said Liberty also helped her to broaden her horizons and develop analytical thinking, which led to incorporating the disciplines she did into her degree. She said her education has helped her lead a women’s support group and has opened doors for
more ministry.
Knox said the convenience of Liberty’s online education program made earning her degree possible and that she is thankful for Liberty’s staff, who supported her and prayed for her.
