Jessica Kinser came to the podium apprehensively during COTC’s Spring 2025 commencement. She had just been deemed the ideal representative of her graduating class, but it quickly became clear why her story stood out. She put it best: “Being a student at COTC saved my life.”

Her path to salvation was scathed by tumult and tough choices. Leaving an abusive relationship was the first one. Then, after four years battling substance use disorder, she decided to get clean. She slowly dug herself out of her dark place, and when she got there, she learned she was pregnant. That’s when Kinser made another tough choice. “I wanted more for our child,” she said, “so I really started thinking about continuing my education.” Despite her lifelong struggles with ADHD and failing her first attempt at college, “I knew it was something I wanted to pursue.”

Really pursuing it proved difficult. Kinser started at COTC during the pandemic and was petrified, but she pushed through and earned a 4.0 GPA in her first semester in the diagnostic medical sonography (DMS) technology program. Kinser worked at her own pace, especially once she had a second child, and flourished with that flexibility. “COTC really helped me discover my passion,” she said.

It also helped her discover her cancer. One day, her instructors casually scanned her thyroid and noticed something strange. They encouraged her to immediately call her doctor, who said he didn’t see anything. Kinser’s professors were persistent. “They really kept on me about getting a second opinion.”

Their instinct was spot-on. Kinser got a biopsy and scheduled surgery to remove the papillary thyroid carcinoma. “My vocal cord nerve was being strangled,” she said. “Within months, I wouldn’t have been able to talk at all.” With treatment came another tough decision. Even with two kids and a tube hanging from her neck, “there was no taking a break from the program” she said. “I had worked too hard to put a pause on anything.”

After five years of hard work, she can finally reflect on the journey that earned her a bachelor’s degree in DMS and a job as a cardiac sonographer at Riverside Methodist Hospital. She has a bright future scanning hearts because she had the heart to make tough choices.

For COTC administration, choosing Kinser as the commencement speaker was not a tough decision. Kinser’s commitment to building a better future — by overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles — personifies the COTC experience.

It’s the triumphant close to a turbulent chapter, but her whole story is still being written. COTC has kept the story — and Kinser — alive. Where you get your education matters. COTC saved my life. Now I am committed to using this life to save others and make a difference.