Hard work pays off with monumental achievement
Karina Yakimovich
After more than 20 years out of the classroom, Karina Yakimovich was ready to embrace a mental challenge.
She found what she needed at Southern Wesleyan University’s North Augusta location.
Up to that point in her life, Yakimovich was devoted to raising a family. She then pursued a full-time career in the legal office at the Medical College of Georgia. When she considered earning a degree, Yakimovich turned to Southern Wesleyan University.
“The staff, the professors and my fellow classmates were 100 percent behind me and my academic pursuits and wanted nothing more than to see me reach my personal goals,” Yakimovich said. She earned a bachelor’s degree in management in 2009.
Yakimovich was nervous about taking on a degree program after all those years, but found members of Southern Wesleyan’s North Augusta staff to be reassuring and supportive. The staff was keenly interested in her educational goals and assured her that she had what it took to obtain a degree.
“Since I don’t do anything half-heartedly, I went in full-speed and fully embraced the challenge of working and attending evening classes – and I loved every minute of it,” Yakimovich said.
In May of 2009, all of the hard work, late nights of studying, group projects and presentations finally paid off for Yakimovich.
“Hearing my name called out as I marched across the stage in front of my family and friends was monumental to me. I am the first in my family of four to graduate with a college degree. And to make it even sweeter, my daughter, a college student herself, was there to support me and cheer me on to culminate in a moment I will cherish forever,” Yakimovich said.
“To the staff and all my professors at the North Augusta campus, I send out a heart-felt ‘thank-you’ for helping me every step of the way to believe in myself and to push myself to something larger and greater than I could have ever imagined,” Yakimovich said.
Yakimovich is currently a patient coordinator for a family and cosmetic dentist in Evans, Ga. She lives in Evans with her husband, Andrew. They have one daughter, Lauren-Ashley, who is a senior at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, Ga.
Yakimovich and her husband attend Stevens Creek Church in Augusta, Ga., where she serves as guest host at the church, greeting members and guests attending Sunday services. She is also involved with a ladies weekly Bible study and fellowship group.