AUSTIN, Texas — The pandemic has drastically changed what school looks like for students of all ages, but for one 68-year-old studying at The University of Texas at Austin, it proved especially devastating.
Reporter Niki Griswold first brought us the story of David Carter more than a year ago.
He had been a student at UT in the ‘70s, but dropped out just a few semesters shy of graduating after a bad accident, and went on to struggle with homelessness, mental health issues, and addiction for decades.
In recent years he became a familiar face on the Drag asking for money. That’s where one UT student got to know him and eventually helped him get re-admitted to UT to finish his degree.
In the summer of 2019, Carter resumed his studies, but now they’re on pause again.
“I’m not doing really very good. But I’m making it, I’m still struggling along," said David Carter.
Carter spends his days, asking for money at an intersection off an Interstate 35 service road in Austin.
But one year ago, he was again a student at UT Austin thanks to help from UT student Ryan Chandler.
“David dropped out of school when I think he was exactly my age, because schizophrenia set on and that triggered so many other spirals in his life that could happen to anybody," said Chandler, a senior at UT. "If you take the time to actually talk to David, you learn that the person under that initial impression is incredibly smart and kind and just needs a little support just like we all do.”
But getting past the hurdle of readmission wasn’t his only struggle.
“I wasn't able to get the help I needed on the computer," said Carter. "I needed intense daily hands on help with the computer and that was just to access my assignments.”
He made it through his classes in the summer and fall of 2019.
But when the pandemic hit this spring, “All the courses went online because of the pandemic. Then, I was sunk, you know. So I dropped the two classes. That's all I could do," said Carter.
On top of the pandemic, he got news that the love of his life, a woman he refers to as his “Little Mouse,” had passed away.
“It was the greatest loss of my life. She was one in a million. There’ll never be another one like her, the Little Mouse. Yeah. This, it just kills my soul every time I think about it, poor little thing," said Carter.
It all was too much for Carter, and led to a spiral in his battle with addiction.
“I just got bummed out and finally I just said, 'To hell with it. I’m gonna get high,'” said Carter.
This fall Carter decided to go to rehab.
“I got a little, little inkling of what it's like to be without, without psychotropics, mind altering drugs for a month. And I started coming back to my true self," said Carter.
These days he’s just doing his best to survive.
“I hope that he's able to get back to a steady position where he can pursue his goals in school and find that community that he needs so badly. But until then, I hope that the people around him, and the people who represent him, will recognize that this pandemic affects some people so much worse than others, and they need help," said Chandler.
“I feel terrible I feel like I just feel defeated," said Carter. "But I have hope.”