Eric Merten
The Ottumwa High School GEAR UP program hosted a breakfast speaker for the freshmen class on Monday to kick off GEAR UP Week. The speaker, Eric Merten, shared his experiences of being the first in his family to attend college.
As a non-traditional student, Merten started college at age 25 with no support. “It was challenging, like jumping off a building without a net,” he said.
Two facts about Merten hooked the students immediately. He graduated 41st out of 42 students with a 1.7 GPA and had no plans to attend college.
Growing up on a farm, he wanted to stay in the Lynnville-Sully area and work. After graduation, he worked as an auto mechanic at a farm co-op and lived with a buddy in a bachelor pad. “I was living the life,” he said. But one morning he woke up and wanted to go back to school. “I can’t explain it,” he said. “Best decision I ever made.” He took the day off and drove to Newton and signed up for two classes at the community college.
He continued to work full-time and took another class during the summer. At the end of the summer, he decided to quit his job and go to school full-time. “I’ll never forget, my boss at the co-op said that he didn’t have to worry about replacing me because when I went to school in the fall and dropped out, I could have my job back.”
Merten attended Des Moines Area Community College in Ankeny. “I was fortunate to get work study in the academic advisory office as a student ambassador (tour guide).” He credits that experience with helping him find his career path. He did not complete his AA but transferred to Grand View to complete his degree in elementary education. He hoped an education degree would be his entry into a job in higher education. He graduated with a 3.9 GPA. “The community college system gave me a second chance,” he said.
He spent a few years working for Iowa State with transfer admissions before coming to Ottumwa. Today, he works in admissions at Indian Hills and is finishing his doctorate. He’ll complete his dissertation in May. “I got my work ethic on the farm and it just followed me.”
Alyx Coble-Frakes, the district's new GEAR UP coordinator, hopes Merten's message motivated students to know that anyone can be successful at the next level. Beyond the weekly GEAR UP classes, other activities this week include sharing dreams and goals on a banner during Thursday lunch and attending the Golden Circle College Fair this weekend.
