Charles Taylor is a senior studying physics. In this installment of “Humans of Iowa State,” Taylor explains life as a non-traditional student while trying to educate himself on other social and cultural groups.

“I think that having perspective is very important regardless of if it’s your own or others; preferably others,” Taylor said. “I’m a non-traditional student… I’m 32.”

Taylor begins his story by sharing his childhood experiences. He grew up attending a multitude of schools over the years, all for the same reason: financial trouble.

“I moved around 28 times from [around age] two or three to graduating high school,” Taylor said. “So I got to experience a lot of different states, cities and different people. I went to 12 different schools in 12 years for grade school. Having the lack of stability in that way… allowed me to experience more and more people.”

Taylor continues his story by elaborating on his post-high school experiences. Taylor discusses how he briefly joined the U.S. Navy before taking on a number of odd jobs.

“We were couch surfers a lot of the time,” Taylor said. “What I really got from it is that I learned how to respect my financial situation so that I don’t take advantage of it and lose my future over it.”

Taylor discusses what led him to Iowa State, his experiences with clubs and organizations on campus and his thoughts on the welcoming nature of the University.

“Having gone through all the different schools that I went to, I got to change quite a bit because I had so many different influences on me so often,” Taylor said. “After high school, I didn’t think that I would be very good at doing college… I thought I had slept through most of high school.”

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To view Taylor’s story, visit the watch link at the top of the article.