{"id":830,"date":"2020-10-16T15:17:17","date_gmt":"2020-10-16T19:17:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tsc.edu\/news-and-events\/?p=830"},"modified":"2021-03-26T17:12:05","modified_gmt":"2021-03-26T21:12:05","slug":"tsc-student-struggles-with-loss-moves-forward-with-support-of-college-family","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tsc.edu\/news-and-events\/2020\/10\/16\/tsc-student-struggles-with-loss-moves-forward-with-support-of-college-family\/","title":{"rendered":"TSC student struggles with loss, moves forward with support of college family"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Texas<\/div>\n

Step by step and day by day is how Dylan Shepard has recently been living life as a student at Texas Southmost College.<\/p>\n

What started as a traditional college experience quickly changed into one of the hardest moments in the 20-year-old\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn March I lost my biggest supporter \u2013 my mom – and life hasn\u2019t been the same,\u201d said the TSC General Studies student.<\/p>\n

The Brownsville native\u2019s mother was diagnosed with congenital heart failure last summer, during a time when Shepard was finding himself as a student and singer.<\/p>\n

College was going well for Shepard, living the dream his mother had for him and taking private voice lessons that would spring board him toward his career as a performer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen my mom received her diagnosis, the emotional and financial struggles began. Hospital bills began to mount and my singing lessons took a backseat, but the one thing my mom never let me do was quit school,\u201d said Shepard. \u201cWhen she passed, I promised her I would finish. So, I have to. It\u2019s a must.\u201d<\/p>\n

As an older brother to a 13 and seven year old, there are times Shepard must take on a parenting role and combine it with the pressures of school. There are times that he feels like he can\u2019t go on.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes I feel like I can\u2019t keep going, but because I don\u2019t want to disappoint my mom I decided that I have to,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s the instructors at TSC that have helped me to push forward and keep living in my mom\u2019s honor.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are many instructors that have touched Shepard\u2019s life since this tragedy hit his family, but he said it\u2019s his TSC English Instructor Rebecca Perales who has impacted him the most.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything for me in the fall and after my mother\u2019s death just piled up on me,\u201d said Shepard. \u201cBut Ms. Perales kept me grounded. She was the first person I told about my mom\u2019s passing. She empathized with my situation and taught me how to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shepard added that artists like Bon Jovi and Madonna have even found their way into his homework routine so he feels closer to his mother, but the closeness he feels to her when he is on campus is much larger.<\/p>\n

\u201cTSC is a family affair,\u201d he said. \u201cMy dad got his associate degree from TSC, and my mom received her bachelor\u2019s from the University of Texas at Brownsville when it used to be a part of TSC. So being on campus makes me feel closer to her.\u201d<\/p>\n

His mother was the first person in Shepard\u2019s family to become a college graduate, which is why her dream for him to finish was so crucial before her passing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad TSC is close to home and affordable. It allowed me to stay with my mom until the end, and allows me to continue a family legacy,\u201d said Shepard. \u201cMy mom\u2019s dream was to see me graduate and perform so I\u2019m working on making that come true.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shepard has one more semester at TSC before transferring to a four-year university where he will pursue a bachelor\u2019s degree in vocal performance.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s enjoyed singing since he was a child, but his shyness held him back, and even though he has nay-sayers, he remembers what his mother, late grandfather and grandmother told him, which is the same advice he has for others.<\/p>\n

\u201cFollow your dreams and your passion, that\u2019s how you\u2019ll find happiness,\u201d he said. \u201cKeep pushing forward, even when life isn\u2019t easy because the hard work will pay off and you\u2019ll finally see success.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shepard said he knows this moment in time will shape his future and who he is, but what he has learned is that he is determined like his mother.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has been one of the worst times in my life,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I feel myself evolving and growing and I know I get that from my mom. I\u2019m glad that in this point in time TSC is in my life because it\u2019s the people here who have supported me and been a huge help in my moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Step by step and day by day is how Dylan Shepard has recently been living life as a student at Texas Southmost College. What started as a traditional college experience quickly changed into one of the hardest moments in the 20-year-old\u2019s life. \u201cIn March I lost my biggest supporter \u2013 my mom – and life […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":158,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTSC student struggles with loss, moves forward with support of college family - News and Events<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Texas Southmost College helped General Studies program student Dylan Shepard move forward after suffering the loss of his mother.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tsc.edu\/news-and-events\/2020\/10\/16\/tsc-student-struggles-with-loss-moves-forward-with-support-of-college-family\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"TSC student struggles with loss, moves forward with support of college family\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Texas Southmost College helped General Studies program student Dylan Shepard move forward after suffering the loss of his mother.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.tsc.edu\/news-and-events\/2020\/10\/16\/tsc-student-struggles-with-loss-moves-forward-with-support-of-college-family\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"News and Events\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-10-16T19:17:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-03-26T21:12:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.tsc.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/10\/Gen-Studies-Dylan-Shepard-300x200-1.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tsc.edu\\\/news-and-events\\\/2020\\\/10\\\/16\\\/tsc-student-struggles-with-loss-moves-forward-with-support-of-college-family\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tsc.edu\\\/news-and-events\\\/2020\\\/10\\\/16\\\/tsc-student-struggles-with-loss-moves-forward-with-support-of-college-family\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"TSC student struggles with loss, moves forward with support of college family\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-10-16T19:17:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-03-26T21:12:05+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tsc.edu\\\/news-and-events\\\/2020\\\/10\\\/16\\\/tsc-student-struggles-with-loss-moves-forward-with-support-of-college-family\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":723,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tsc.edu\\\/news-and-events\\\/2020\\\/10\\\/16\\\/tsc-student-struggles-with-loss-moves-forward-with-support-of-college-family\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tsc.edu\\\/news-and-events\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2020\\\/10\\\/Gen-Studies-Dylan-Shepard-300x200-1.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tsc.edu\\\/news-and-events\\\/2020\\\/10\\\/16\\\/tsc-student-struggles-with-loss-moves-forward-with-support-of-college-family\\\/#respond\"]}],\"copyrightYear\":\"2020\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tsc.edu\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tsc.edu\\\/news-and-events\\\/2020\\\/10\\\/16\\\/tsc-student-struggles-with-loss-moves-forward-with-support-of-college-family\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tsc.edu\\\/news-and-events\\\/2020\\\/10\\\/16\\\/tsc-student-struggles-with-loss-moves-forward-with-support-of-college-family\\\/\",\"name\":\"TSC student struggles with loss, moves forward with support of college family - 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