The Obstacle Is The Way - A Success Story
There are a bunch of things that we love here at Prepineer…but of all of them, hearing of the amazing transformations that occur in people’s lives because of our program is near the top of them all.
I do want to say up front, that we are nothing without our amazing students…and that our amazing students have everything they need, regardless of it they use Prepineer or not, to get anywhere they want in life.
Progress in life comes from action…and action is a choice.
Every success story we hear leaves goosebumps on our arms, but the stories of those who pick themselves up after falling short on the exam before are extra special to us.
These students show what being resilient really means…and the good news is, you can do the exact same thing.
Ashley Sullivan had been beaten down by the FE Exam twice prior to joining Prepineer. Deep, debilitating scars appeared within due to these past failures, but at the end of the day, she never gave up hope.
I love sharing stories because they are so inspiring, so today, I wanted to share Ashley’s, using her own words, and what the journey was all about for her.
"The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way" - Marcus Aurelius
Ashley’s Prepineer success story begins at the end of January of 2015.
At that point, she was rally back from her second failed attempt of the FE Exam.
The first attempt was 14 months back, when she was a graduating Civil Engineering student at Texas A&M.
October 16, 2013
It was a brisk fall morning in the east central Texas city of College Station, and Ashley was sitting for her first attempt of the FE Exam.
She was confident, as a graduating senior, she was well entrenched in the material that would be covered.
The exam kicked off, and she went to work.
There were some ups and downs during the exam as she experienced problems she didn’t even realize she would be working. This tripped her up a little, but continued to push through without missing a beat.
The exam ended, she walked out, semi confident she did just fine, but also pestered by the all to common voice in the back of her mind…”Did I do good enough to pass?”
After waiting 13 weeks (oh the joy of the old pen and paper exam), she received her results.
Obstacle Number 1
The results hit her like a brick wall…Fail.
Oh no.


When the dust settled, she dug in to the diagnostics to see where things went wrong, and how, or where she needed to focus more time moving forward.


This left her more than a little confused.
Areas she thought she was strong in, ended up being the areas she most struggled on come exam day.
"Don't look back, you're not going that way"
Ashley got back up, brushed herself off, and started pushing towards the exam once again.
It was early 2014, and she had a couple months to prepare.
She put in the time, hit the books, and focused on areas she fell short on in the previous exam. This was a good approach, she was confident with just having taken the FE Exam, that she would benefit from her previous studies.
The day finally came.
May 29, 2014
Ashley sat down at her computer.
There were a lot of changes that occurred since the last time she took the exam. No longer was it pen and paper, but now it was given at a standardized testing center, on a computer.
This was different, but nonetheless, knew that she put the time in and was ready to roll.
The exam started…then ended, and she walked out confident but pestered by the old friend of hers “Did I do good enough to pass?”
Obstacle Number 2
It only took a few days this time to receive her results.
Silence precipitated around the room, and one single mouse click later…Fail.
Chaos ensued.


She opened up her diagnostic, only to notice that the format had completely changed, the grading scale revised, and the amount of confusion exponentially increased.


Is this the end?
The story can end here.
It does for many who just give up on their dreams and aspirations to become an Engineer.
It’s hard to argue what the stats are saying…
- 65.9% of those who will have to retake the exam will fail.
Ashley had failed twice…so what does that mean?
January 2015
The odds were stacked against her, yes, but there was one thing that she never gave up on…and that was Hope.
Let’s be honest, many of us are paralyzed when it comes to taking action towards our goals. Obstacles creep up, times get challenging, and we sit their frozen looking ahead at all the obstacles that “could” occur.
This doesn’t have to be the end, it can be the start to a new beginning…a new perspective on how we actually “can” reach our goals.
Ashley did it…and I am telling you, you can do it to.
I’ll let Ashley wrap it up in her own words.
Ashley came in to Prepineer determined to regain and conquer the goal she set out to conquer, despite the previous 2 failures.
Then 3 months later, on Tuesday, April 28, 2015, I received this personal message:
What an oh so sweet moment in Ashley’s career.
She had struggled mightily to conquer this obstacle, but persevered, and made it a thing of the past.
This encompasses the wisdom that was laid down almost 2000 years ago…
"The obstacle in the path becomes the path. Never forget, within every obstacle is an opportunity to improve our condition" - Marcus Aurelius
And improve she did…


Your Next Steps
So if you haven’t already, here’s what you should start doing and thinking about after reading about Ashley’s story:
1. Stop letting the obstacles ahead (or behind) control your direction. Be bold, step out, and tackle your goals with passion…that’s what you are put on this earth to do.
2. Take to heart Ashley’s words of wisdom and know you are not alone when it comes to being overwhelmed. Being overwhelmed is normal going in to his exam, 95% of the students I work with admit to some level of this emotion…it’s natural.
3. Let Prepineer help you achieve your goal of becoming a Professional Engineer. We have built a program that works, combining world class content with a thriving community of support. I personally invite you to Try Prepineer for 7 DAYS FREE. Click here to get started!