MURFREESBORO — A
former U.S. Marine who overcame addiction and incarceration to embark on a
college career has a new set of wheels to help him along the way.
MTSU sophomore agribusiness major Oketa Ojok received a
revamped 2009 Toyota Camry hybrid Friday (Sept. 16) at the Student Union on
campus in the Service King Great American Giveaway, a charitable endeavor in
which refurbished vehicles are distributed to people who have overcome
formidable obstacles.
“Your ability to persevere is really what defines you, and
it’s hard to persevere when you don’t have the right team around you,” said the
31-year-old Ojok. “And, I think, at this point in time, I have a great
supporting team.”
In his application essay, Ojok, a native of South Sudan,
wrote about becoming an alcoholic following his deployment to Iraq, resulting
in the death of his best friend after a drinking binge. He received a general discharge
from the Marine Corps and dropped out of school. A few months later, he was in
jail.
“I could not see it at the time, but going to jail was the
greatest thing that could have ever happened to me,” wrote Ojok. “It gave me
enough time to separate myself from my crippling addictions and toxic
relationships.”
After spending his sentence reading everything he could get
his hands on, Ojok was furloughed into a recovery court, a special program in
which a multidisciplinary team of professionals help nonviolent offenders who
have substance abuse and/or mental health issues.
“Since being admitted to Veterans’ Treatment Court, Mr. Ojok
has made great, great strides in his life skills,” Judge Ben Hall McFarlin Jr.
of Rutherford County General Sessions Court Part I wrote in a letter to Service
King that he read at the ceremony. “In fact, he is an exemplary member of our
program. He’s an inspiration to all of us.”
Service King made arrangements for Ojok to receive the car
through MTSU’s Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans and Military Family Center,
which is designed to assist active military personnel, veterans and family
members to move from military to college and from college to a successful
career.
“I appreciate that MTSU has designed a center so that we can
serve veterans and organizations can come to us to assist them,” said center
director Hilary Miller.
“I began a new chapter in my life with people who wanted
more of life,” wrote Ojok. “I started working out every day and, as I fed my
mind and strengthened my body, my life began to change for the better.”
Service King, a collision repair chain with more than 275
locations in 23 states, is giving away 36 “recycled rides” nationwide. The
vehicles are distributed to military veterans, single mothers, domestic
violence victims, homeless families and others who need transportation to turn
their lives around.
Ojok’s Camry was donated by State Farm Insurance and
repaired by Service King on Nolensville Pike in Nashville. Parts and labor were
donated by Daw Auto Trim of Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, AAA Auto Glass of
Murfreesboro, and Beaman Toyota of Nashville.
“I feel like I’m the luckiest guy in Middle Tennessee right
now,” said Ojok.
And fittingly, Ojok’s new Camry was blue.
For more information about the veterans’ center, contact
Miller at 615-904-8347 or hilary.miller@mtsu.edu
or go to http://mtsu.edu/military/index.php.
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