Like many high-achieving EMU students, freshman construction management major LaTina Johnson, 32, took the nontraditional route to college. Early motherhood derailed a plan to accept one of two college scholarships she had been offered upon graduating from Detroit Central High School. In the ensuing years, Johnson and her husband Modeira had four more children. Homeschooling them, and helping her husband earn his degree, kept Johnson busy.

Until the accident, the "reality check" as Johnson calls it, that changed her life. In 2002, when she was about four or five weeks pregnant with her sixth child, the family minivan was broadsided.Johnson's children were in the van with her, and luckily, none were hurt. But, Johnson was badly injured, and the pregnancy meant she couldn't be treated with pain medication or receive x-rays to determine the extent of her injuries. They did know that her spine was fractured, and she spent two months in the hospital and nearly two years in various therapies. She had to learn to walk again and to retrain her arms and legs in movements as simple as buttoning a shirt. "I had a lot of time to think," Johnson said. While she was laying in the hospital, she promised herself that if she could survive and recover from the accident, she wasn't going to let anything stop her from doing all the things she'd always wanted to do. One of those things was to enter college as soon as possible.

"I felt like I'd been given a second chance," Johnson said. "I said, 'I'm not going to mess this up.'" With her recovery aided by family and friends, Johnson applied to EMU's construction management program in the College of Technology. Johnson said that the time was right for her to fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a carpenter. "I'd loved building things since shop in junior high," she said. "There's something about taking things that are dusty and dirty and making something of it."

But Johnson's grandfather (who raised her) said absolutely not to that idea. "He was a master brick mason in the Detroit area for more than 40 years, and he said that he had already broken his back working and that he wasn't going to let me do that to myself," Johnson said. "Well, my back was broken, and I made it through it, so there wasn't anything to stop me!"

Johnson began taking classes in January. With the encouragement of construction management professors Jim Stein and Melanie Myers, Johnson applied for a two-year, $10,000 scholarship from lumber giant 84 Lumber. The scholarship is part of the company's nationwide charitable "Building Hope" campaign.

Johnson and Akia Brown, a sophomore from Warren, Mich., were the first EMU students and first women to receive funding from the company. "They are two exceptional individuals who have demonstrated a desire to develop careers in the industry," said Maggie Hardy Magerko, president of 84 Lumber. "We are proud to help them further their education and build strong futures."

Johnson says it's all been like a dream come true. "They (EMU and 84 Lumber) have opened a door for me. I'm thankful for it. I've been encouraging people to come to EMU and follow their dreams." C