Summit Academy Secondary School – Akron alumnus Samuel Kerr became a two-time college degree recipient when he earned his Bachelor of Science in Emergency Management and Homeland Security from The University of Akron on Dec. 11, 2021.

Fresh out of his cap and gown, newly minted University of Akron baccalaureate graduate and Summit Academy alumnus Samuel Kerr keeps it real about his college journey.

“College isn’t for the faint of heart,” says the 2016 Summit Academy Secondary School – Akron graduate who is also now a two-time UA graduate. Kerr received his Bachelor of Science in Emergency Management and Homeland Security on Dec. 11, 2021. Earlier, he earned his Criminal Justice Studies Associate of Arts degree.

New graduates of The University of Akron, among them Summit Academy alumnus Samuel Kerr, were featured in individual displays during the university’s Dec. 11, 2021 commencement ceremony.

The valedictorian of his Summit Academy graduating class, Kerr says his desire to serve others and make the world a better place drove his decision to pursue his dual university degrees. He left Summit Academy armed with a scholarship and motivation. While up to the college challenge, Kerr recounts his many late nights working on assignments and countless hours absorbing lectured lessons.

“When I was in college it was tough trying to get through it day by day; every assignment and trying to keep my grades up,” he says.

All the while, Kerr says his passion for writing fan fiction provided him an outlet from the stresses of college studies. Through writing, Kerr says he lets his imagination take him anywhere he desires to escape the “harshness of reality.”

Kerr has been writing for about four years. He publishes his stories on Wattpad, an online social reading platform for users to read and write original work. Kerr’s 524 (and counting) followers express their affections for his work, commenting daily on his prose. Kerr says he always tries to write from his audience’s perspective. He delights in tapping his readers’ emotions, bringing them to laughter or tears through his written words. Kerr’s books are penned under the name, Soejammy. His most popular story has nearly 100,000 views and more than 1,500 votes.

While maintaining his daily writing routine, Kerr is currently working for Amazon, focused on paying down his student loans. When asked where he sees himself in five years, Kerr says he prefers to live in the moment, taking each day a step at a time.

Dreams and thoughts are not reality, he asserts. Nothing is set in stone until its moment has arrived, Kerr says.

And, as Summit Academy sees it, a milestone moment for Sam Kerr surely has arrived.