Utah Air National Guard Veteran Honored as SLCC Graduate of Excellence
Posted: 2018-5-16
"Off and on" for three years, Aaron Christopher Hornok lived on the streets of Salt Lake City.
At times he lived out of his car. Other times he stayed with friends, at a shelter or he camped near streams so he could fish for food.
He watched fellow homeless veterans die on the streets "and I was the only one with them."
"The streets alone can kill you. It’s a never-ending pit," Hornok recently wrote in an essay.
Not only was he watching lives literally disappear before his eyes, the limited savings he had stashed away while serving in the Utah Air National Guard was dwindling.
His mother reached out to him and told him he could come home for a month until he could find a job. Once employed, he'd have another month to save for housing.
While job hunting through the Department of Workforce Services, the department "hooked me up with an education person."
A short time later, he was enrolled in Salt Lake Community College. Two and a half years later, he has earned an associate degree in applied sciences along with two skill certificates.
On Friday, Hornok will be one of seven SLCC graduates honored during commencement exercises at the Maverik Center as a "graduate of excellence..."
Read the full article at https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900017700/once-homeless-utah-air-national-guard-veteran-honored-as-slcc-graduate-of-excellence.html
At times he lived out of his car. Other times he stayed with friends, at a shelter or he camped near streams so he could fish for food.
He watched fellow homeless veterans die on the streets "and I was the only one with them."
"The streets alone can kill you. It’s a never-ending pit," Hornok recently wrote in an essay.
Not only was he watching lives literally disappear before his eyes, the limited savings he had stashed away while serving in the Utah Air National Guard was dwindling.
His mother reached out to him and told him he could come home for a month until he could find a job. Once employed, he'd have another month to save for housing.
While job hunting through the Department of Workforce Services, the department "hooked me up with an education person."
A short time later, he was enrolled in Salt Lake Community College. Two and a half years later, he has earned an associate degree in applied sciences along with two skill certificates.
On Friday, Hornok will be one of seven SLCC graduates honored during commencement exercises at the Maverik Center as a "graduate of excellence..."
Read the full article at https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900017700/once-homeless-utah-air-national-guard-veteran-honored-as-slcc-graduate-of-excellence.html
