CSUB grad battles bipolar disorder, learning disability to earn degree
May 28, 2008CONTACT:
Kathy Miller, 661/654-2456, kmiller26@csub.edu or
Jaclyn Hernandez, 661/654-2138, jhernandez37@csub.edu
Everyday is different, especially for JT Walker. Each day he attends his college classes just like everyone else at California State University, Bakersfield. Little does everyone know how difficult it is for him to do just that.
Walker is one of 10 million Americans with bipolar disorder, a medical illness that causes extreme shifts in mood, energy, and functioning according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). It's been a long journey but with the support of his family, friends and professors, Walker will graduate from CSUB's criminal justice program on Saturday, June 7.
After hearing his story, it's hard to believe Walker once worked as a senior business systems analyst. It was a job that was "highly complicated and complex," he explained.
Get him in a classroom setting and it's easy to see where he's more comfortable. "Each quarter brings difficulty. Room and instructor changes are difficult periods of adjustment, much more difficult than a job where it's the same time, same place and same people every day. A job is much more comfortable because it has that level of routine. (With regard to school) Monday is different than Wednesday and Friday. It's like a brand new job every quarter."
Walker realizes a future employer "can look at me and wonder 'how can he work for me if he can't even go to school?'" But it's with the consistency of a job that he's most at ease.
The 43 year-old first realized he had a problem 12 years ago. His depression evolved into a severe depression and he was sent to the psychiatric emergency room at Kern Medical Center. He was diagnosed soon thereafter. Since then, he's been receiving ongoing treatment at CSUB's Counseling Center and through regular visits to Mary Kay Shell Mental Health Center. "Those have been the only ways for me to stay in school," Walker candidly explained.
He has to attend school year-round since he tends to get behind in class due to his illness. "I deal with severe depression, occasional mania (overly excited periods) and a learning disability which requires medication. I also have problems like memory difficulty, difficulty with recall, sleep disorders and an inability to sit still in class.
"I have to leave class frequently. I have one class that's over two hours long and one that's five hours, which means I miss lectures for periods of time. I also get easily distracted so I record some lectures so that I can go back and listen to understand and better retain the information."
Getting the required work for the class takes additional effort as well. "It's hard to stay focused when writing reports…I can't pick a topic when asked by the professors, it's overwhelming. I have to go to the instructor and a topic has to be assigned. I can't be given non-specific tasks." He must be given a set of goals to meet and work with instructors regularly.
Walker often has to retake classes several times to pass. His medication can "get out of whack" and depression will once again set in. It can take several months just for him to get "back to normal." He attributes a lot of his success to his professors.
"It takes a lot of effort on the professor's part to make sure I pass," he said. "Being at a smaller college has made a huge difference. At a large university, professors wouldn't take the time like they do here at CSUB. Well over half the courses I've taken and passed has been due to the professors' help."
Those professors have received something from Walker as well. "JT embodies the best of the human spirit. Despite dealing with the serious handicaps of bipolar condition and depression, he has managed, with hard work, perseverance and grace, to complete his B.A. at CSUB," said Tim Vivian, religious studies professor.
"The first time JT took my class, because of recurring mental health problems, he had to take an 'incomplete,' which I gladly gave him. To complete the course JT needed to retake only the last third. But, in what demonstrates his remarkably responsible character, JT retook the whole course from start to finish; he did all the assignments and took all the exams.
"Because of his illness, and with his seriousness of purpose and openness, I talked with JT many times and offered all the help I could to allow him to finish. He was always open and honest about his condition, how he was doing, and what his prospects were for finishing. I think I can safely say that we connected in ways far beyond the superficial student-teacher relationship."
CSUB's small community size was attractive to Walker who moved his family to Bakersfield from Orange County in order to finish his education. "I was laid off because they outsourced my job…I couldn't get an interview without a degree," he said. He's looking forward to a career in probation, crime prevention or fraud detection.
After four years of determination and dedication, he has made it. Walker realizes the stigma that can accompany mental illness, "Some think with depression you can suck it up and move on. But there are degrees that can be so deep. It's being sucked up by depression (that can be harmful). It's the kind you can't just work through. That's when you need counseling and help. When it's everyday, it's all the time that you can't get out of bed, you can't bare to be around people or go out of the house, when you can't bare to see the light of day."
"Those who suffer from bipolar disorder feel it's a horrific disease and there is not treatment that can help them," said Rudy Hernandez, a CSUB alum and Kaiser Permanente psych therapist who is not treating Walker. "However, many people across the world manage well as long as they maintain a good treatment plan including one-on-one therapy and medication management."
For more information about bipolar disorder, log onto [ http://www.nami.org ]www.nami.org or call Kern County Mental Health at (661) 868-8000. CSUB students may contact the Counseling Center at (661) 654-3366.