Among the Class of 2026 Bryan School of Business and Economics students stands Lucas Koon. His pride shines bright alongside his classmates, yet he carries a certain humility and gratitude that hits different from his peers set to gather in caps and gowns at First Horizon Coliseum.
“We all got here from different paths, but we made it,” he muses. “No matter where you came from or how long it took us to get here, we’re all graduating.”
Koon’s words are especially insightful considering he left UNC Greensboro with failing grades in 2019. Back then, he thought college just wasn’t for him. Now, he graduates with a 3.5 GPA and a stacked résumé including internships at ITG Brands and Volvo Inc. It’s a turnaround that would not have been possible without the resources he found at UNCG.
Freshman Misfires
Koon was a 2019 graduate of Greensboro’s Page High School who enrolled at UNCG because it was close to home. “Back then, I wasn’t properly focused on schoolwork,” he admits. “I think I used all of my withdrawal credits at the end of the first semester, so when I made a couple of Fs my second semester, I decided to take a break from college.”
His advisor suggested an Information Systems and Supply Chain Management major, but Koon didn’t think much about it. He wasn’t engaged in school, and distance learning during the pandemic didn’t help. Like many students during this time, he quit and focused on work, thinking “Maybe college isn’t for me.”
He got a job in facilities management at Grace Community Church doing handyman tasks and setting up events. The job kept him busy, and while he found support from the staff there, he began to realize that his options would be limited without a four-year degree. Koon researched coming back to UNCG, but he feared that his earlier academic misfires would follow him.
“When I first started at UNCG, I was going with the flow and not really setting goals for myself,” Koon says. “But once I got into the real world for a little bit, I realized what it was going take to get where I wanted to be.”
Academic Renewal
UNCG and many of its sister schools in the UNC System have a policy for students like Koon called Academic Renewal. It creates a path for students who withdraw from school with less than a 2.0 GPA to start fresh with their prior Ds and Fs forgiven from their GPA.
Qualifying students must be removed from UNCG for at least two full terms without enrolling in another institution. Or they can return with 24 hours of transferrable credit hours. Once they re-enroll and complete 12 credit hours with a 2.5 GPA or better, they can apply for Academic Renewal to drop the undesirable marks.
Instead of jumping back into a college atmosphere that didn’t work for him before, Koon decided to get an associate’s degree in business administration and accounting at Guilford Technical Community College, then re-enroll as a transfer student.
“I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it before taking on the UNCG challenge,” Koon explains. “I stayed committed, did pretty good my first semester back, applied for academic renewal, and it was approved. I had a clean slate from then on.”
UNCG’s StopOut Prevention and ReEntry Coordinator Gina Ingraham helped Koon with his application and advised him on the best enrolment path for him. “It has been a huge effort in our division in recent years, with the creation of my role and an additional focus by the UNC System,” she says.
Re-enrolling students and supporting them when they fall into academic trouble pays off when they make it to graduation. It was especially critical for students who needed support during the pandemic. UNCG earned the highest performance ranking in the system in 2025, thanks in part to processes that boost four-year graduation rates and raise GPAs among students. Koon was one of them.
Trucking Towards Graduation
This time around, he had a completely different mindset than his younger days on campus. “Hanging out with my friends always took precedence before,” he says. But now that he was back with a fresh start, he set goals and looked for resources to keep his grades up, build his résumé, and make himself marketable in the workforce.
He thrived in his classes at the Bryan School and found his Information Systems and Supply Chain Management major to be perfect for him. In his first semester back, he participated in the Bryan Gold Career Readiness Challenge. Through the challenge, Koon earned points for attending career fairs, networking mixers, and professional development conferences. It also triggered his competitive spirit: “I wanted to earn points in the competition, but at the same time, it was helping me with my academics and professional development.”
Bryan Gold participation led to a paid summer internship at ITG Brands, then another in the fall semester with Volvo. The Volvo internship was extended through his final semester and, just days before graduation, he interviewed for a full-time position as a data analyst for Volvo’s finance team after he graduates.
Never Too Late
Although unconventional tracks like Koon’s aren’t uncommon, his successful outcome is an example of how UNCG’s resources can benefit even the most unfocused first-year student.
“It is always exciting to see our students return and complete their degree, and I’m proud to have played a part in Lucas’ journey,” Ingraham says. “Students are often nervous to take that first step towards a return, and it takes a lot of courage to do so. We are here to make it as seamless as possible and ensure they have the support they need to succeed, from start to finish.”
As Koon prepares for his next chapter, he is grateful for the support he found at UNCG and the unique policy that helped him to graduate with a 3.5 GPA. He plans to use the dedication he learned along the way “in any future job” he takes.
“When you’re 18 and making mistakes, you think it’s the end of the world,” he says. “But I want people to know that it’s never too late to get your act together and go back.”
Story by Becky Deakins, University Communications.
Photos by Sean Norona, University Communications.
