This Sunday, nearly 650 students will receive their diplomas, a symbol of many years of hard work. While each graduate has traveled a path filled with ups and downs, @Metro profiles three soon-to-be graduates whose path has been anything but ordinary.

Teresa Crawford

It was the fall of 1998 and Teresa Crawford was having the time of her life at the University of Colorado in Boulder. Classes weren't so great, but she was having a great time partying and hanging out with friends.

All of that suddenly crashed in around Crawford when she discovered she was pregnant. The father wasn't in the picture and Crawford left school for Golden to live with her parents. Her son, Nicholaus, was born with numerous medical problems that required lots of doctors' appointments and several surgeries.

"For the first couple of years of his life all I did was coordinate doctors' appointments, hospital stays and surgeries," Crawford recalled. It was a lot for a 21-year-old to shoulder, but with the help of her parents and two sisters, Crawford managed to care for her son and enroll in Metro State.

One of her first courses at Metro was a history course with History Professor Dolph Grundman, director of the honors program. "He really encouraged me to get through and was very helpful and encouraging when I needed it," Crawford said. Crawford majored in history and completed the honors program, carrying a 4.0 grade-point average. "I've faced some big challenges but at the same time I don't think I would have been at Metro State and on the academic path I'm now on without those challenges," she says.

Crawford plans to take the LSAT exam this February and hopes to attend law school at CU Boulder. "I've always intended to be an attorney," she explained. Based up on her experience as a single mom working with various courts for child support and custody issues, Crawford would like to pursue a career in which she helps other single moms navigate the complicated court system.

Rene Freshour

Rene Freshour has already accomplished more as a student than some people do in a lifetime. She's also endured more. The 31-year-old moved to Denver six years ago from Montana with no intention of returning to school. Two years after arriving in Denver, Freshour was raped and her life was turned upside down.

For solace, Freshour turned to journaling. "When this happened to me I felt like there was this part of me that was taken that I could never get back," she recalled. "Through journaling I was able to regain some of what was lost."

Freshour decided to enroll in Metro State after a therapist suggested she go to college. She enrolled in Associate English Professor Linda Lang-Peralta's advanced composition class and discovered her writing talent. "We were asked to write an autobiographical essay about a life-changing event. When I finished the essay I knew I was a writer," Freshour said.

She also discovered she was a publisher. During two internships she compiled and edited an anthology of writings by Metro State students and faculty titled The Self That Was Her Story. When she couldn't find a publisher for the book, Freshour decided to publish it herself. Along the way she learned about the printing process, paper, copyrights, graphic design and more. The book is now available for sale in the Auraria Book Center.

As she looks ahead to Sunday's commencement, Freshour sees both a beginning and an ending. "This book has really helped me let go of the past. And looking forward, I'm newly married, I've started writing a novel and I'm working on some short stories. When I started at Metro three years ago I didn't consider myself a writer. Now I'm very much a writer."

Mike Wallen

Mike Wallen was a typical student at the University of Colorado at Boulder when he began to notice some disturbing changes in his body. His legs felt constantly cramped and he was suffering frequent bloody noses. What's more, he was always tired and wanted to sleep constantly.

The doctor's prognosis was not hopeful: Wallen, at the age of 21, was suffering from kidney failure. He was immediately checked into the hospital and was put on kidney dialysis, three times a week, four hours at a time. "It was hard at first but we made everything a joke," Wallen recalls. "You just have to deal with it and hope for the best."

Several months later his father stepped in to donate a kidney. The dialysis and side effects were just too much. On March 29, 2002, Wallen received a new kidney and began the road to recovery. Remarkably, he was enrolled in Metro State during that time, completing eight credit hours in the spring of 2002.

"The after transplant period is really tough," Wallen said, explaining that medications required to ensure the body doesn't reject the new kidney cause severe side effects, including temper and mood swings, skin inflammations and severe water retention. To keep busy he started a workout regimen, went back to work at Gump Glass and took classes.

Without the gift from his father, Wallen would still be facing dialysis. "I would still be on the transplant list, waiting for a kidney." Instead, he'll graduate Sunday with a bachelor's degree in behavioral science with a minor in history.

Wallen is considering whether to attend graduate school, but in the meantime he plans to enjoy his newfound attitude toward life. "This was a wake-up call for me. I was partying most weekends and I didn't put too much emphasis on school. Now I appreciate the little things in life, and I take care of myself."