Cedric D. McCutchen National Guard.
Photo courtesy of Cedric D. McCutchen
Cedric D. McCutchen is returning to Florida A&M University to finish what he started.
McCutchen is a junior criminal psychology major from Port St. Lucie. He is the oldest of three children – he has a younger brother and sister, Isaiah and Zyanne McCutchen. He was raised by his stepmother and biological father, Lori and Cedric L. McCutchen. After high school, McCutchen knew he wanted to attend a college or a university.
In the fall of 2016 after applying to different universities, McCutchen was accepted into Florida A&M University with a full ride scholarship from Distinguished Scholars Award. As excited as most freshmen are, McCutchen wanted to obtain a degree in mechanical engineering. This ambition came from a talk with two of his youth group mentors, James Robert and Harry B. Williams.
According to McCutchen, Robert and Williams mentioned that FAMU is a great school and would be a great place for school and to get in touch with more of the African American culture and the history that he still might need.
While pursuing his degree McCutchen hit a few bumps in the road, which led him to leave FAMU the following spring semester. McCutchen had lost his scholarship due to family problems and FASFA.
“Once I realized I was going to lose my Scholarship, I stopped caring about going to class and allowed my GPA to fall to a 2.0. I lost a sense of purpose,” said McCutchen.
After about a year of being out of school, McCutchen joined the National Guard.
“I'm very proud of Ced. he comes from a difficult background. He took it upon himself to not only finish college but to also pay for it himself. I've watched him grow into a self-sufficient man over only a few years,” said Jairrin Dickens.
McCutchen is now enrolled in the National Guard, which is allowing him to return back to school while still being in the military part-time. He also plans to resume attending classes in spring of 2019 as a junior. On top of all that, once he finishes his last two years as an undergrad he will be eligible to graduate as an officer from FAMU’s ROTC program.