Friends, alumni unite to help Navy reservist sail through to graduation — twice
For Jameer Fitch, guidance from his network has been key to earning his MBA and bachelor’s degrees.
What does it take to get through the higher-education journey successfully? Sometimes, you need a little help from your friends.
Such was the case for Jameer Fitch, who crossed the stage at Commencement this fall to receive his MBA, his second degree from Metropolitan State University of Denver.
Fitch’s MSU Denver story began in 2012 with a plan: Major in Computer Information Systems, graduate in 2015 alongside Leon Duran, his friend, classmate and fellow U.S. Navy reservist, and attend law school. However, life didn’t go as planned, and Fitch got behind. “I kept missing the mark and making excuses; I was burnt out,” he said.
Then, Fitch was called to active duty and deployed, further pushing back his educational goals. When Fitch returned to the U.S. in 2019, Duran encouraged him to complete his degree. Once Fitch was willing, Duran, a 2015 Criminal Justice and Criminology graduate, was ready to guide him.
“He literally walked me to the departments and introduced me to everyone, including Dean (Ann) Murphy and Dr. (Janine) Davidson — I knew I had a family to help me finish my degree,” Fitch said. He also benefited from using the Fresh Start Program, which removed the worst grades from his calculated GPA so he could avoid the daunting task of “digging myself out of a hole.”
When Fitch graduated in fall 2020 with a degree in Legal Analytics and Organizational Leadership through the University’s Individualized Degree Program, his law-school plans were delayed, so Duran had an idea for Fitch to join him in MSU Denver’s MBA program.
Fitch figured he would attend for a semester or two before going to law school, but the program aligned with his position as a physical security analyst for Comcast Cable West Division, benefited his military career and made him a better person and law-school candidate.
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This year, Duran and Fitch finally got to walk together at Commencement. “It’s been our dream since we both got into the MBA program,” said Duran. “I started a year earlier but got deployed, so it worked out perfectly.”
But that’s not the end of the story — or even the beginning, for that matter — because Duran couldn’t have been a guide if someone hadn’t done the same thing for him. That person was Travis Luther, Duran’s former instructor and a fellow alumnus.
The two met when Duran took classes for his Entrepreneurship minor. After he graduated, they reconnected when Duran was invited to speak to Luther’s students about his success as an entrepreneur. “I thought Leon would be a good inspiration because he launched his businesses (U.S. Veterans Landscape Design and HoneyCutz) within a couple of years of where these students were,” said Luther, a 2008 Behavioral Science graduate.
Duran and Luther continued working together on entrepreneurial projects, eventually becoming close friends. Luther, Duran and Fitch have since developed a camaraderie built on shared values and a similar vision for their lives. As members of the Alumni Association Board of Directors, where Duran serves as vice president and Luther as Foundation Board representative, they collaborate to ensure that MSU Denver students have access to the same opportunities that brought them together.
“I’m going to make you successful because if you’re successful, we can make the next person successful,” Fitch said of the mentality. He continues the cycle by encouraging family and friends to earn their degrees at MSU Denver, providing the tools and networks that got him to the finish line not once, but twice.
At Commencement, Duran and Fitch were cheered on by family and friends (including Luther), their military family and Fitch’s manager, as well as Jamie Hurst, MSU Denver assistant vice president for strategic engagement, and Brandi Rideout, senior director of alumni engagement and executive director of the Alumni Association. Fitch credits all of them for opening doors that allowed him to grow, adding that without his wife’s support, none of it would have been possible.
In fact, his network of support has gotten him even closer to reaching his goal of attending law school — he’ll take the LSAT in January.
For those struggling to get to the finish line, as Fitch once did, he offers the following advice: “Really dig into your network and don’t be afraid to ask for help — let people know what you’re going through. At the end of the day, we’re not alone.”
