This is not a story about a young parent, or a story of a CSUN student. It’s a story about the strength of a human being to be persistent when life has become one long, hard struggle.

Like some of you reading this, Chris Haggard is a parent. And also like many of you, he struggles to balance school, work, and family – especially now that he has a family of his own. Haggard drives from Lancaster to Northridge and back six days a week. He is a full-time student and has two jobs. A modern-day Renaissance man, Haggard is an artist, a photographer, a dancer and a musician. He is always more than willing to “kick down some knowledge” to others, especially younger people.

Spending time with him, I found out how he has the energy to keep up with this lifestyle – an undying love for life and everything in it. I’ve seen it in the way that he looks at his daughter, Dahnbi Inara. I’ve felt it in the way that he hugs me when he greets me.

Chris Haggard is not only a great human being, but also a perfect example of what our world is missing today – people living with a purpose, with love in their hearts, and appreciation for everyone and everything.

“I continue to press forward daily, not for my own personal gratification, but knowing that this reality that we have come to know as life is nothing but a dream in which we create our surroundings,” Haggard said. “My only hope for the future is that this will be a place that my daughter will be able to call home and not a place that promotes fear.”