Ged to Phd: Reaching Higher!

By Dr. Vernon L. Czelusniak

A true story of survival, GED to PhD illustrates how a young man living in a dysfunctional family overcame family rivalry, verbal abuse, learning problems and substance abuse. Through determination, hope, and faith he completed a PhD. Vernons prayer is that this book will provide encouragement, excitement, and hope for those who are struggling with educational disabilities, low self-esteem, lack of motivation, depression, and addictions. From a young age, Vernon was told that he would not amount to much in life. He was never encouraged to succeed in academics and gave up on life. The minute that God entered his life, it was transformed. In this book, readers will experience the different twists and turns on Vernons academic and professional journey. This book will show how he was transformed from a loser to a winner, a high school drop-out to a person who completed a PhD, a laborer to a college campus president, a non-rated enlisted member to a Senior Chief Petty Officer, then a commissioned Chief Warrant Officer, from a lost young man to a church leader, elder, and minister and from a lost young married man to a father and grandfather. On your journey though life, do not settle by giving up. Instead, look deep inside yourself and find hope through a personal relationship with God.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jan 20, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490865409

Dr. Vernon L. Czelusniak

Dr. Vernon L. Czelusniak is an accomplished professional with broad-based experience in higher education, instructional design, human resources development, and performance counseling. He possesses experience in faith-based programs, church management, academics, discipleship, biblical counseling, church ministries, and small group leadership. He also served in the U. S. Coast Guard for twenty years and retired as a Chief Warrant Officer (Personnel Administrator).

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Copyright © 2015 Dr. Vernon L. Czelusniak.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

WestBow Press

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-6539-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-6541-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-6540-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015900239

WestBow Press rev. date: 1/20/2015

Contents

Author’s Note

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1 - Introduction

Chapter 2 - My Family Upbringing

Chapter 3 - Reminiscing My Early Years

Chapter 4 - Arriving in Mexico City, Mexico

Chapter 5 - Back to the USA

Chapter 6 - Growth through Life’s Struggles

Chapter 7 - Yankees Move to the South—Living in the Land of Eden

Chapter 8 - A Relationship with My Maker

Chapter 9 - Backslidden and Lonely

Chapter 10 - It’s Off to Work I Go

Chapter 11 - My Future in the US Coast Guard

Chapter 12 - Sunny Miami Beach, Florida

Chapter 13 - God’s Precious Gift

Chapter 14 - Go West, Young Man! Corpus Christi Bound

Chapter 15 - Educational Transformation—Moving Forward

Chapter 16 - My Educational Journey Continues

Chapter 17 - God-Centered Life – My Continued Journey

Bibliography

Author’s Note

Except for family members, the names and some identifying details of others mentioned in this book have been changed. These are my accounts of the events of my life.

Remember: The stars are the limit. If I can do it through God’s help, then you can also!

Foreword

From GED to PhD: The Stars Are the Limit! is a remarkable story of success of a man faced with adversities at an early age; a high school dropout with a learning disability who continually persevered through faith, prayer, hardships, and inner strength to receive the coveted Doctorate in Computing Technologies in Education (DCTE). This personal pilgrimage blends a lifestyle driven by negative influences, personal decisions (good and bad), and faith that created a self-taught learning desire to be better. Dr. Czelusniak confronts the reader with soul-searching questions to, What is holding you back?, while offering insight, Scripture, examples of love and determination to move forward. There are lessons that can be learned and applied with great ease. This book provides a perceptive insight of a methodology that could be a valuable asset to many. Dr. Czelusniak is the personification of success projected through faith, prayer, and action while keeping his eyes on Jesus. I recommend reading this book.

—Thomas F. Oatmeyer, Colonel, USAFR, retired

Vern Czelusniak has led a remarkable life that he shares in this autobiography. It is an inspirational story of a life in progress that truly reflects the man. I was his doctoral dissertation advisor; we have become colleagues and friends. Vern is warm, industrious, and highly spiritual. He is motivated by a deep religious belief that it is his responsibility to maximize the intellectual and social gifts that G-d bestowed upon him. His story moves along at a rapid pace interspersed with quotes from the Bible. Readers will recognize some of their own struggles and will find themselves cheering for him as he faces new challenges.

—Dr. Gertrude (Trudy) Abramson, professor, Nova Southeastern University

Acknowledgments

I want to dedicate this book first to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I express my appreciation to my generous parents for being who they were and for instilling morals and values in my life. A heartfelt thanks goes to my wife for her tireless years of standing by my side as the best wife, friend, mentor, cheerleader, mother, and grandmother to me and our family. If it were not for her, who knows where I would be today.

I also want to dedicate this book to my children and their spouses. I love you John and Jessie, Rudy and Stacy, as you guys have encouraged me throughout the years and inspired me to complete this book. I cannot forget my six grandchildren, and I pray that you will continue your walk with God and make Him your priority in life: Rudy, Megan, John Matthew, Gavin Lucas, Christian, and Sophia Isabella.

I especially want to thank Thomas (Oats) Oatmeyer, and Dr. Gertrude (Trudy) Abramson for your kind words written in the Foreword. Also, I want to recognize Dr. Bruce Francis, Dr. Nancy Thornton, Dr. Judy Akin-Palmer, Dr. Carla Lane, and many of my colleagues, family, and friends for providing me with your invaluable feedback during this writing journey.

Lastly, I want to thank all of my siblings—Nancy, Paul, Rebecca, and Terry—for being part of my life. We all need to continue to remain connected as the family I love so much.

Chapter 1

Introduction

• Have you ever felt like you could not succeed in life?

• Have you ever been told that you were the ruination of the home?

• Have you been told that you would never amount to much in life?

• Have you been continually bombarded with negativity instead of being supported through love and a positive environment?

Well let me tell you, we do not have any control over what others feel about us, say to us, or do to us. However, we do have the choice of either accepting their negative thoughts, feelings, and words and letting them affect our lives tremendously, or asking the Lord to give us strength to disregard those hurtful things, which allows us to press on with the strength of God.

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. (Philippians 3:12)

What do I want to be when I grow up?

If you had asked me in high school, prior to quitting, what I planned to do with my life, the answer would have been, I want to be a counselor. I wanted to help others who had problems in their lives, even though my life was unfulfilled and a mess. It seemed many of my friends, both girls and guys, would gravitate to me for a listening ear. They would come to me and say, Vernon, what do you think I should do? or What should I say?

I could only share with them from my own feelings, thoughts, and experiences, which were very limited at that age. However, life does not provide us with a crystal ball to answer the question, What will I be when I grow up? The problem with predicting our futures is we do not know how and where we will be tomorrow. Similar to how we have no control over what transpired yesterday, we certainly have no idea of what lies ahead. I have learned that I can only allow God to control my life today and live one day at a time.

Chapter 2

My Family Upbringing

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How important is family to you? I know that my upbringing was similar to that of other families. I was raised in a typical dysfunctional family. Sibling rivalry was common in our family. We always argued. My older siblings were sarcastic and belittled one another—and many times it was done in jest. As any normal family, we had our arguments, fights, and fun together.

Growing up in a middle-class family was interesting. I was the third child born, and I quickly became the middle child. I have an older sister and older brother and two younger sisters.

My dad was born in a family with eight children. I understand that Grandma Czelusniak had nine children, but one died at birth. My pop was the oldest of all of his brothers and sisters. He was a very industrious man. He always provided for his family, and then after marrying Mom, he was a fantastic provider for us. We never went to bed hungry and always had a roof over our heads. My dad had a tough life as he never had the opportunity to complete high school. Since he was the oldest of all the siblings, he felt the responsibility to help support his family during the World War II era.

My grandfather Paul and grandmother Martha first immigrated to the city of Nanticoke, Pennsylvania. I was told that my grandfather had one of the largest automotive garages in Nanticoke. After living there for years, they packed up and moved from Pennsylvania to Amsterdam, New York. They had many family members living in upstate New York, and many of them still reside there.

My grandparents lived in a little house off the main road in Hagaman. I can still see my grandmother tending her beautiful garden of flowers and vegetables. My grandfather Paul kept his yard beautifully groomed. I remember seeing him mowing his yard with a riding lawnmower, going round and round the trees and the finely groomed bushes.

Whenever we approached Grandma and Grandpa’s home, we smelled the aroma of Polish food cooking on the stove. My favorite food Grandma made by hand was pierogis with cheese and potatoes and sauerkraut. She spent countless hours peeling potatoes and then mashing them up to be placed in the pierogi dough. She would cook sauerkraut and ensure that she had plenty of Polish pickles to serve for meals.

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I always admired my grandpa because he was a very good musician. He played the organ and many other instruments. He and my uncle would spend countless hours playing together and singing many of the oldies but goodies. The Czelusniaks used to have annual family reunions. These large reunions were always held at Grandpa and Grandma’s home. During the reunion, all you could see were cars parked on every inch of the driveway and front yard. Most of the family would take time to gather once a year for a time of great food and fun.

Since our family moved around a great deal with my father’s job, we could only make a few family reunions. I remember that when we arrived, all you could see were our aunts and uncles and a slew of cousins talking, laughing, and eating. I would look around and not recognize all of my cousins, aunts, uncles, and family members.

My father held my hand as we greeted everyone. I would pull on his hand and whisper in his ear, Dad, are all of these folks our cousins? There certainly were many people and new faces every time we attended a new reunion. I do not remember how many family members there were, but Grandpa and Grandma had many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. One thing that I definitely saw was that since we were not regulars, our family felt we did not belong. However, my family still attempted to ensure that we were polite and watched our p’s and q’s.

My grandmother died in 1974 at age seventy, just around the time that I had joined the US Coast Guard. My grandfather Paul died in 1996 at age ninety-nine, just one week prior to his one-hundredth birthday.

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Now for my mother’s side. My mother was born into a family as an only child. She was a beautiful lady and loved to socialize with friends and family. Mom had a very difficult life because my grandfather Vernon (whom I was named after) was a no-nonsense type of man and very strict. He was stern and serious. I remember my family saying, Your grandpa is always so serious because he lived during the Depression. My mother was selfish with her love because she was raised as an only child.

My grandparents lived on the second floor of a two-family house. Their landlords lived on the bottom floor of the house. As we pulled up to the driveway of their home, my brothers and sisters would all storm out of the car, and we would race to see who would get to the back door first. My brother would count, one, two, three, and off we would race as fast as our little legs could carry us. We always had to enter through the back door of the house. We were not allowed to use the front steps and not make any noise because their landlords were old, cranky, and set in their ways.

Every time we visited my grandparents, Mom would say as we tiptoed up the back steps, Shh, shh, remember to be quiet. She would give us further instructions: I want you kids to be on your best behavior as we don’t want to upset your grandfather. The minute that we entered the back door to Grandpa and Grandma’s house, we walked on eggshells because we did not dare to make any sounds that would disturb the landlords.

As we entered the back door, we could smell the aroma of Grandma’s cooking, and without fail, my grandfather Vernon would be sitting at the little dinette table in his boxer shorts. In front of him was either a tall glass of dark beer with foam at the top or a mixed drink. Grandpa insisted that my grandmother always place these glass mugs in the freezer so that they would always be ice-cold.

After we got settled, I would slip over to Grandpa and give him a big kiss on the cheek. He would then give me a small sip of his ice-cold beer. I knew that Vernon and Pearl loved their drinks because they always had cases of beer, gin, vodka, and whiskey in their living room closet. They were always prepared for a social visit from friends and family.

When we got around my grandfather, we did not know what kind of mood he would be in. One day I was going to sit at the dinette table next to him. I dragged a chair across the linoleum floor, and he yelled, Vernon, what are you doing dragging that chair? Then within seconds, we heard a voice from the first floor saying, Can you be quiet up there.

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My grandma Pearl, on the other hand, was a very sweet and quiet woman. She was a loving and caring person who loved to laugh and play practical jokes. I remember my mother telling us that one day my grandmother had dressed up as an old man. She had on a straw hat, a pair of Grandpa’s coverall pants, and an old baggy shirt. She went to the local tavern, sat next to him, and talked with him. She was so well disguised that he did not even know it was his wife. Mom said that when Grandma told this story, she would