Nearly a decade after first arriving at the University of Dayton, Joseph Hughton-Berko is finally crossing the graduation stage — a milestone that once felt out of reach. He officially graduated this May with his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.
Like many engineering students, he found a love for math, science and turning “scraps” into something functional through his high school robotics team. After visiting the University of Dayton during his college search, he knew he had found the right place — somewhere he felt comfortable, welcomed and eager for the future.
The transition proved more difficult than expected once classes began. Hughton-Berko struggled under the pressure of others to succeed, thinking too much about the expectations and what’s at stake. He fell into a cycle: starting each semester strong, burning out midway through and seeing his performance decline at the end.
“I was on campus, but I wasn't going to classes and I wasn't doing any assignments. I found myself overwhelmed and less engaged in class.,” Hughton-Berko said. “I would overthink too much, the pressure felt more intense, and my mental health started to drop. It leads me to lose my focus in the classroom, making the obstacles bigger than they need to be and out of fear, I run away and avoid the problem.”
By spring 2020, that cycle reached a breaking point. He was academically dismissed from the university, a temporary termination of his enrollment status due to poor academic performance.
“In the semester leading up to my dismissal, I was mentally broken and exhausted. I had given up completely. I stopped attending classes and doing most of my schoolwork,” Hughton-Berko said. “Even though I was attending therapy sessions and meeting with an academic coach weekly, all that effort and help seemed meaningless at the time. Receiving that email knowing the reality of my life hit hard.”
Unsure how to move forward, he kept the news to himself. In fall 2020, he still had his UD housing assignment but took classes at Sinclair Community College to boost his GPA, but found himself repeating the same patterns.
Hughton-Berko moved back home to Columbus that winter and continued classes at Columbus State Community College with the goal to get back to UD by fall 2021. He spent the next three years taking courses, but found himself in the same mindset as before.
“I was unmotivated and reluctant. Even though this was the process to get back into school, it was difficult to follow through when it didn’t work out the first time,” Hughton-Berko said. “Me failing the classes constantly was not because I wasn’t smart enough, it was because my mind was constantly overthinking about how much I failed, that I’d give up and walk away from the coursework I had to do.”
What led to the change of situation was when he made the step to seek counseling at his home church, which helped him begin to confront the negative self-perception and learned how to forgive himself.
“He brought me to a place where I had to forgive myself, remove this consciousness of guilt I put myself and change the way I responded to things.’”
Leaning into Christ and his faith was a key driving factor for Hughton-Berko. He attended and served at church, joined a young adults groups and built his church community to rediscover what Christ can do through him.
“It was my faith and trust I put in God to carry me through this. That is where I found my strength to persist and persevere through it,” Hughton Berko said. “My faith is the foundation to which I stand upon. Christ helped me build a strong foundation to keep me standing and face life’s battles”
With a renewed mindset, he returned to Columbus State Community College in spring 2024 and successfully passed all classes. By fall 2024, he was back on campus at UD with a different approach.
“I wanted to prove to myself that I could finish at UD. I wasn’t going to let the enemy say otherwise.”
The transition wasn’t easy. It had been 3 years since he left and many of his peers had already graduated. But slowly, things began to click. With a stronger sense of self-awareness and support systems like on-campus student organizations like the Multi-Ethnic Engineers Program and Black Action Through Unity, his advisor and Dr. Gerica Brown, he finished the semester with a 3.0 GPA. And, he continued connecting with his growing faith through bible study groups and attending a local church.
“I am so proud of Joseph and the determination that he has demonstrated in returning to UD after all of his friends and peers have already graduated, and doing so with grace, humility, and excellence,” Brown said. “The fact that he chose to return to UD to finish his degree, I believe, is a testament to the value he saw in getting a UD education.”
An internship in spring 2025 with ITW further reignited his motivation, giving him the opportunity to apply what he had learned, reconnect with the reasons he chose engineering in the first place and helped him see the value of his coursework. In fall 2025, Hughton-Berko was attending and engaging in every class, completing all homework assignments and finished with a 3.3 GPA.
Hughton-Berko sees his journey as a lesson in perseverance and persistence.
“Persistence is continuing to do something despite the difficulty, delay, or opposition. It's about repeated effort. Perseverance is about enduring difficulty, setbacks, or failures - pushing through even when it's hard,” Hughton-Berko said. “Me coming back every semester was persistent. Failing those classes, dealing with the frustration, self-doubt, and being avoidant at times, but still deciding not to stop, is where I persevered.”
