Meet…
Chastity Irwin, the self-proclaimed “non-traditional, traditional” student, who is completing her second year of her Communication major. As a proud mother of 19-year-old Jessica, and a strong marriage to her best friend, Irwin’s story reveals that sacrifice, perseverance, love and faith are her ways to happiness and success.
Why She’s Interesting….
Irwin’s positively energized attitude towards life makes her notable. According to Irwin, she keeps her mind set on growth.
“We all battle and try to be the best versions of ourselves each day and hopefully by the time I leave Sinclair, I will be a little more fabulous, a little stronger,” she said.
Irwin said that she developed that outlook after an experience in which she almost lost her daughter
Irwin’s daughter, Jessica Waters, was diagnosed with epilepsy, a condition that makes her prone to erratic seizures. According to Irwin, fear gripped her in the middle of her college career as this situation befell her, and she simply stopped attending classes and that eventually led to her dropping out of school.
“When facing trying times, you learn a lot from fear. You are forced to reprioritize everything and [re-examine] who you believe in,” Irwin said.
With this in mind, Irwin said she chose to sacrifice strengthening herself in the middle of her career to strengthen her family. With her daughter withdrawing into a shell, Irwin practically forced her to attend a camp for kids with epilepsy and from it, Jessica, according to Irwin, broke out of her own fear and went on to establish a nonprofit organization called “Cupcakes for Camp.”
Jessica, having her mother’s support from day one, went on to be the most decorated teen on the East Coast and visited the White House on six different occasions—which in many perspectives is defined as the ultimate success.
As a proud mother, Irwin saw her daughter accomplish all these feats and eventually enroll in the University of Kentucky. From there, Irwin picked up where she left off years prior and enrolled in Sinclair Community College.
“Sometimes, we have to stop just having faith in others and begin to also have faith in ourselves… have faith that we can accomplish great things,” Irwin said. “The only thing that will kill fear is strength and love because when we are fearful, we are weak.”
Irwin’s message to her community is, “I would want people to know I was thankful and that if they ever had a doubt, I loved them.”
With that, Irwin pushes forward in a rigidly optimistic fashion as she nears the end of this phase of her life as a student.
“The end product of a person is just the beginning,” Irwin said.
She looks forward to contributing to building the Sinclair Community post-graduation by landing a job in the college.
Falastin Issa
Reporter