SAC Graduate Lee Foxworthy Balances Work, Parenting, and Academic Goals

Lee Foxworthy had a perfectly good job when he decided to go back to college in his thirties.

As a pastry chef for HEB, he enjoyed his work and colleagues.

然后在COVID-19大流行期间, a friend asked him the question that changed everything: “If there was nothing in your way, 你会怎么做？?”

His answer: to become a naturalist like David Attenborough, teaching people about wildlife and the natural world.

 “你为什么不呢？?她回答道.

She refused to accept the reasons he listed for not pursuing his dream.

“She just kept telling me my answers were not good enough reasons not to do what I want to with my life,福克斯沃西说.

Fast forward to 2024: Foxworthy has graduated from 圣安东尼奥学院 with a degree in environmental science as the 2024 Honors Academy Distinguished Graduate. He’ll attend Texas State University in the honors program this fall to study wildlife biology.

No one would have blamed Foxworthy if he had set aside his dreams. In addition to working full-time, Foxworthy and his husband became licensed foster parents. The couple has fostered children for two years and recently adopted a 16-year-old they had fostered for a year.

“It’s something we had pretty much always wanted to do,福克斯沃西说. “我们有不同的信仰, but both of our faiths have calls to care for your community, 你的邻居. We even bought our house with the intention of fostering or adopting kids.”

这对夫妇只收养LGBT+青少年. It’s difficult to find foster homes for any teenager, especially LGBT+ teens, Foxworthy said.

“My husband and I decided that’s where the most need is, 这就是我们要做的,他说. 

尽管已经吃得满满的了, 福克斯沃西报名参加了SAC的两门课程, including a Mexican American art appreciation class that had a transformative effect on him.

“卢塞罗·萨尔达纳教授很了不起. It’s the best online course I’ve ever taken,他说. 她展示材料的方式, 她让我们参与其中的方式, 只是重新激发了我对学习的热爱.” 

His grades soon made him eligible for Phi Theta Kappa, SAC的荣誉社团, 以及SAC荣誉学院.

“I got hooked on the honors format because it’s so much more engaging, 这是更多的批判性思维,他说.

He quickly realized that he would need to prioritize study time to meet his academic goals.

“做父母真的很难, 要工作, to be going to school and to maintain that level of academic intensity,他说. “I realized if I’m going to do this I’m going to need to structure my life in a way that allowed me time to study. Everybody thinks you have to be smart, but you just have to put in the time.”

Another experience at SAC helped him identify his career goals. 2023年春天, 通过SAC荣誉学院, 福克斯沃西参与了《澳门新葡京博彩》, a program coordinated by the National Collegiate Honors Council.

Foxworthy joined honors students from across the nation for a week-long session on the Appalachian Trail, 参与跟踪工作, 徒步旅行, seminars led by university faculty and park personnel, and meeting outdoor nonprofit organizations and hikers. He received funding from SAC’s Student Activity Fee Committee to participate in the program.

“这帮助我选择了职业道路，”他说. “这就是我想要有所作为的地方, conserving these outdoor spaces for both people and the environment and making them accessible for literally everyone regardless of income level.”

囊,