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Fulfilling a Long-Time Dream

When Calvin Atchison II walked into the Tennessee Career Center in Nashville, Tennessee, going to school was not his first plan of action. A strong, assertive man who had served in the Navy for several years, there wasn’t much that Calvin was afraid of, but after being out of the classroom setting for nearly fifteen years he freely admits, “That was my fear of going back into a class, that since all that time had passed, I wouldn’t know how to do anything.”

While at the Career Center, Calvin met one of National College’s  community resource coordinators for the nearby Nashville Campus. She explained National’s Armed Services Recognition Grant, which provides tuition assistance of up to $4,000 for eligible military and veteran students, and invited Calvin to visit the campus.

Calvin took her up on her invitation and went in to talk to an admission representative. “I eventually want to start my own business,” Calvin told the representative, “I really want to do something in the music industry… become a producer or something like that.” With a business administration-management degree, perhaps he could open his own studio, run his own producing business, the options were wide open. That is when he decided to enroll. He then learned that National offered other grants to help with the costs of his education. In addition to grants that recognized his military service, National’s exclusive Workforce Development Grant supplemented funding he received through the Tennessee Career Center.

Calvin was pleasantly surprised to find that starting school at National was so much easier than he had thought it would be.  He noted that the small class sizes, friendly staff, and knowledgeable instructors are what contributed to the smooth transition.

The skills he gained at National laid the foundation for Calvin to open his own business “Quantum to Virtual” after he graduated in May 2009. As the Director of Operations, Calvin does a little bit of everything, from meeting one-on-one with prospective customers, drafting business plans for clients, helping connect his clients with websites, business cards, organizing and managing promotional events, even being called on as a back-up cameraman:  “Anything that has to do with starting your own business or a business that’s already established – we help out,” Calvin sums up.

Right now, Calvin is pursuing his bachelor’s degree and looking ahead for a master’s and eventually a doctorate:  “One day I plan on being Dr. Calvin O. Atchison II,” just like his father. It’s not just a personal goal, but he wants to keep his education focused, “to help out a lot more with the business we have—to gain more knowledge about the industry,” Calvin states. Calvin has already discovered how valuable his education is to his business, and in five to ten years he plans on continuing his education and stretching his business beyond where it is now to better serve his mission of “doing as much as I can for small business owners.”