Together We Rise: The Long Way Home
From overcoming a tragic childhood and homelessness to facing life-changing struggles during his college years, J.D. Kulis’ path to success is a testament to his unyielding determination and optimism. Becoming a Phoenix not only provided a degree, but also a caring community of support when his life came to a crashing halt.
Jacob Daniel Kulis has a “new-to-him” car—a 2020 Mitsubishi Outlander. “My first car was a Jeep Liberty Renegade,” Kulis recalls. “But it broke down in three months because I actually learned that oil changes are important.” (Kulis is well-known for his sense of humor.)
Now, with his new car, Kulis has an alternative to taking the bus, which, given his new role as an Operations Supervisor for Green Bay Metro, is quite ironic considering Kulis’ lifelong relationship with local mass transit. “I grew up with the bus system,” and relied on it for most of his life to get around Green Bay. In fact, part of his training included learning how to drive a bus and personally encountering the driver’s phenomenon known as ‘tail swing.’ He explains, “You have to watch how the back of your bus swings around next to cars and stuff. It’s like driving a giant fish.”
Kulis earned his bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from UW-Green Bay, and launching into his career, is facing the day-to-day realities of having an “official” job. “It’s definitely challenging,” he admits, “but it’s very, very rewarding getting to work with the public and help manage a major transit system in our area.”
Kulis communicates with staff.
He’s embracing a new role with his usual brand of cheerful optimism, drawing on the resilience that comes with a personal history of navigating through tough situations. It’s a journey that has spanned both crushing personal lows and triumphant educational highs—from enduring tragic periods to ultimately succeeding and crossing the commencement stage with a UW-Green Bay diploma.
Rooted in Resilience
His earliest memories? Trees. Kulis began his unexpected journey within the beauty of the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Unfortunately, his early years didn’t reflect the serenity of those surroundings. Mental health issues cast shadows over the family—a grandfather’s suicide, a father struggling with schizophrenia, and a mother with bipolar depression. A life-changing tragedy compounded the situation when his father died when Kulis was just two years old. From that point on, Kulis and his mother relied on death benefits until he was 14, and then moved to Green Bay.
Financial struggles followed their move. “We had an eviction,” he recalls. They lived “from couch to couch” with friends and family, even moving out of state with relatives for a time before eventually returning to Green Bay to a homeless shelter. As for his education, Kulis says, “I basically homeschooled myself—with mom’s help.”
They devised a plan to ‘build’ a high school diploma. Kulis accessed free, online college-level courses, was awarded credit, and then translated his “college credits” into high school credits sufficient for a diploma. “Ultimately, we built my school from the ground up to help get me across the finish line,” he explains. And that finish line was being accepted into UW-Green Bay.
This innovative approach to education is not unique to Kulis’ experience; it is also a fundamental aspect of the access mission at UW-Green Bay. The University recognizes and facilitates the ambitions of non-traditional students like Kulis, providing avenues for them to leverage their prior learning and experiences toward earning a degree.
Kulis’ educational journey was akin to scaling a steep mountain. “When I applied to college, mom and I were living in a transitional apartment,” he recalls. However, upon turning 18, he lost eligibility and had to find new accommodation. “Realistically, we did not feel comfortable continuing in that program because I was 18 and we felt too guilty to ask for additional support, even though I was already an adult.” Consequently, Kulis moved separately to a different shelter, an all-male community with residents ranging in age from their 20s to their 60s. At 18, he was the youngest—but now an official adult. The stories of his ‘roommates’ spanned a wide spectrum of misfortune, yet each one was threaded with a profound sense of shared humanity. Reflecting on this experience, Kulis wisely noted, “No one had the perfect life; there was no single way to define a homeless person. Addiction, conviction—everyone had their own story.”
Amid these challenges, Kulis found his path toward post-high school education with the help of his case manager, a UW-Green Bay alum. “College was something I always wanted to do as a kid. I wanted to go to college to be the first in my family to graduate from a four-year school, and maybe even pursue a master’s program.”
Forging His Path
“Everyone at student services was very kind and welcoming, but I was so nervous,” Kulis recalls. “I’m like, okay, what do I do? I have no idea what I’m doing. I’m signing up for classes. I didn’t even know what I needed.” What he needed first was to get connected with financial aid. “That was the first thing—making sure I could cover my costs. They showed me exactly what aid I could get for the summer and how it would affect my fall and spring tuition.”
With financial concerns partially alleviated, he felt more secure about his living situation on campus. Ironically, while many students feel displaced when first moving into a college dorm, in Kulis’ case, it marked the first time he had secured a stable home in years. Then came academic advising. “I asked, ‘Hey, what classes can I take to get started?’ They recommended three different classes and even got me waived into one of them because I was waiting on test scores.” He was supposed to start fall of 2019, but instead started earlier that summer.
Kulis with his Mom.
Kulis became involved with Student Government, the Campus Cupboard, and began an internship with the Pride Center. These activities were more than extracurriculars; they were his new community and life. “I hit college life at full speed.”
That community came to a crashing halt in 2020. He lost his mother in February and as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded, he was forced to leave campus, just after his mother’s day-of-remembrance ceremony.
“With my mom’s passing and the pandemic, my mental health really struggled,” Kulis shares. The combination of online learning during the pandemic and his personal loss made it incredibly difficult for him to manage. Kulis decided to withdraw from the university in the fall of 2020 and took a subsequent break to focus on his mental health and to “construct a personal safety net.”
Yeah. So well, my dad passed of cancer and then my mom passed of suicide. Well… It was honestly unexpected to all of us. And plus, my dad passed when I was very young. So really, it was interesting for me because my mom was all I’ve ever known while growing up. And then when she passed, I was like, oh, shoot, I’m all on my own.
Community of Support
Although Kulis’ circumstances were extreme, it’s not unusual for college students to struggle with life-changing challenges. “I don’t know if I could have done what he did,” reflects Erin Van Daalwyk, Dean of Students.
Her mission, along with the Dean of Students Office, is to provide comprehensive support to students facing significant challenges, ensuring they do not have to navigate their difficulties alone. This office is dedicated to assisting students like Kulis through a range of services designed to foster resilience and success.
“In my office, we encounter many resilient individuals, like in the case of J.D.,” said Van Daalwyk. “But through working with our support services on our campuses, they acquire even more important skills and learn through modeling and scaffolding. Eventually, they become more resilient and can succeed, even when it seems like all the odds are stacked against them.”
“What saved J.D. was his willingness to seek help,” continued Van Daalwyk. “Many students hesitate because of the stigma around seeking support and assistance. J.D. was able to be successful, despite the many circumstances in his life that could have prevented him from finishing his degree.”
One support structure is a bereavement policy. When students do lose someone, most of the time they just take a week or so off; Van Daalwyk makes sure that no matter what, they’re not left on their own. “Our case managers in our office continue to follow up with them, make sure that their faculty have provided them the appropriate time off to do work or get caught up.” In Kulis’ case, he took an entire semester off but found the reintegration process to be smooth and supportive, thanks to various university departments. “They were all super helpful in making sure I could take a break, how we get that break done, and how to get me back into the system when I was feeling better.”
From Classroom to Control Room
These days, with the remarkable achievement of his bachelor’s degree and a flourishing career, Kulis is feeling better, firmly in control and ready to steer his own course.
Kulis chats with a driver.
As the operations supervisor, he is not only responsible for the daily functioning of the transit system but also plays a crucial role during emergencies or special events, such as when a presidential rally coincided with a major snowstorm. Solving problems with humor and humility is Kulis’ forte. “The biggest thing is just making sure that our employees felt supported. First things first, I greet our dispatchers. Got to make sure they recognize I’m there because they’re the lifeline of Metro,” Kulis explained.
After all the personal struggles, Kulis is now giving back to the GB Metro transit system – the organization that ensured his safe passage to first-generation college graduate. His easy laugh and smile say it all, and the biggest difference? “A lot less homework.”
Why will you never stop learning?
“Our world is ever-changing. With current events and things that happen in the news, it changes on a daily basis. And combined with new technologies and new innovations that we can implement to make our lives easier, more efficient; it definitely helps to keep learning and keep studying and keep understanding.”
What’s a recent lesson life (in this case your new job) taught you?
“You have to pay attention to how you serve the public and to treat people with respect. The bus system is more than just basic customer service for us because a lot of our population is vulnerable. You see a lot of folks that are homeless, a lot of folks that come from minority backgrounds, a lot of folks that have disabilities, a whole bunch of different things. And a lot of these challenges intersect.
Also, I think how much detail there is in everything, especially in how much everything needs to be tracked and recorded and documented. Because if something goes missing, I mean, that’s public taxpayer dollars at stake.”
What would your mom think about your career choice?
“My mom always laughed at me for taking the bus all the time because for a good chunk of my life, she did have a car, and she’s like, ‘Did you want to ride to school, or did you want to ride to this place?’ And I’m like, ‘No, I’ll just take the bus.’ I didn’t want to inconvenience her or anything. And they all laughed at me for being a ‘walking bus schedule.’ But I think looking back on it now, I think she’d be very proud of me. She’d be like, ‘Of course, go work for the buses!’”
At UW-Green Bay, every person has the power to Rise. No matter who you are, where you’re from, or what you want to be. We invite you to read more Rise Stories about people from all walks of life who are blazing a brighter future for our region.
The Assistance & Advocacy services offered through the Dean of Students provide support for a range of student needs, from bereavement and extended absences to temporary impairments and other personal challenges. This includes advice on academic implications related to course withdrawals and facilitation of access to appropriate resources. For students with temporary impairments, the university encourages proactive communication with instructors to explore potential adjustments or accommodations, such as note-sharing, lecture recording, and temporary parking permits, to aid their academic participation during recovery.
