I am a graduate student getting my Ph.D. in chemistry. I’m proud to say that my journey has been anything but spotless. I had a D on my record in high school. I was quite average of a student in college. Even with satisfactory grades, I’m a Ph.D. candidate. Despite common belief, grades are not the end all be all to succeed in life. Similarly, those grades are not an accurate representation of everyone’s work ethic. With this, today, I share a bit of my story and some practical tips that will take any career from drab to fab. Through prayer, persistence, priority, and partnerships, I turned my academic career around from making D’s to studying at the Ph.D. level successfully.