Dan Ignaczak will begin pursuing his master’s degree in history next fall after graduating with his bachelor’s last December. (Photo by Derik Holtmann)
Dan Ignaczak can barely believe how much he’s looking forward to August, when he’ll return to the University of Missouri–St. Louis to begin working toward a master’s degree in history.
Ignaczak, who earned his bachelor’s in history at UMSL in December, is ready to be back in the classroom, and he’s hoping the pursuit of his next degree will help unlock opportunities for him to one day teach history at a community college, having seen how life-changing his own experience was as a student in that setting.
“I love the teaching aspect of it,” Ignaczak said. “I love the role model aspect of it. One of the things that I think I have a leg up in a lot of senses – I can relate to struggling students. I can relate to people at community college, having done that route.”
But that feeling of eager anticipation he has for the fall is something Ignaczak still is getting used to after failing at three universities while lacking a clear direction since finishing high school in 2011.
“That was kind of my M.O.,” Ignaczak said. “I would hit a rut, I would fail a couple tests, and then I would just kind of stop going to class.”
He all but gave up on school and wound up working in a series of restaurants and bars to support himself over the next several years, but he dealt with addiction issues that came to a head during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. His family looked out for him, connecting him with a psychologist and helping get him into an addiction recovery center to begin developing healthy habits as he got used to sobriety.
Ignaczak eventually decided to give education another chance – on his terms and with a new sense of purpose. He credits both St. Louis Community College–Meramec and UMSL for providing him with opportunities and engaging, supportive faculty members to help him succeed when he never had before.
A fresh start
Ignaczak didn’t jump right back into school. Instead, he took time to re-evaluate and rearrange his life. One of the biggest changes he made was to his physical health, altering his diet and implementing exercise to lose about 120 pounds he’d gained over years mistreating his body.
“One thing I’ve learned is the ability and the gift of just showing up and being relentless,” he said. “Continuing to show up even if you don’t want to, if you don’t feel like it that day – I’ve added that to so many different parts of my life.”
His physical transformation was already underway when his then-girlfriend suggested he consider returning to the classroom. He remembers her saying, “Why don’t you just go to St. Louis Community College and try to take a couple classes, see what you’re interested in? Do you even know what you want to do?’”
He can also recall his apprehension.
“I still figured, ‘Man, school is not for me,’” Ignaczak said. “I had all these failures, and I thought, ‘Who’s going to let me in?’”
But he gave it a try, enrolling in a post-Civil War American history course along with introductory English and geology at STLCC-Meramec. In his first semester, he found himself enjoying the experience, especially the history course with Professor Steve Collins. He said he had a lot of conversations with Collins outside of class that helped Ignaczak start to think through the direction he wanted his academic career to go.
Continuing education
Ignaczak received all As during his first semester at STLCC, then did it again the semester after that. With his confidence growing, he found himself wondering what he might do if he earned his associate degree. As he got closer to reaching that goal, he started looking at UMSL, pointed in that direction by several friends, including an alum.
Given his early academic struggles, Ignaczak was still bracing for disappointment as he filled out his application, but his acceptance came quickly. He was grateful for the chance to make a fresh start and even received an UMSL Merit Scholarship as a transfer student.
Ignaczak spent his first semester taking classes online and decided to major in history. He did well academically but found the experience even better when he started going in person in his second semester.
That’s also when he met Professor Laura Westhoff, one of several faculty members who’ve helped and encouraged him in the Department of History.
“She’s been instrumental in my success and my passion for what I want to do,” he said of Westhoff. “She’s been really a great mentor and somebody who’s helped a lot of people in my class on their academic journeys.”
Ignaczak first had Westhoff for an “Introduction to Historical Inquiry” course, and she said he added greatly to the classroom environment.
“Dan has a rare combination of being vulnerable about his past challenges and matter of fact and curious about his learning in the classroom,” Westhoff said. “Dan’s presence was like an undercurrent of quiet, hard-earned, humble confidence that pulled fellow students along, inviting us to celebrate and appreciate the learning path each of us are on. His no-nonsense dedication to personal, community, intellectual and educational growth is a model for others. It certainly was for me.”
She was excited to see him enroll in another of her courses last fall and also encouraged him to take an internship position as an assistant to Professor and UMSL alum Grace Moser at St. Charles Community College.
In that role, Ignaczak got to be back in the community college environment, and he even had the opportunity to serve as guest lecturer. It helped solidify the idea that he’d ultimately like to teach in such a setting.
A new goal
Ignaczak has had the support of his fiancé throughout his academic journey, and he had a chance to celebrate his graduation with her and the rest of his family in December. He couldn’t help but be in a reflective mood during and after the ceremony.
“It’s kind of crazy that I have a degree now, really from where I was,” he said. “I never ever thought I would get one. And 14 years later, I feel pretty phenomenal.”
But he’s not finished. This spring, Ignaczak received his acceptance into UMSL’s master’s program. He’s been trying to work and save as much money as he can before the fall arrives. He and his fiancé have also started planning their wedding for May 2027.
Ignaczak knows he’ll be starting graduate school in a much better frame of mind than he had earlier in his life. For starters, he’s pursuing a degree he chose and is confident he has the support of the faculty in the Department of History.
“I can’t stress how important that was to me, to have a relationship with my professors, for them to know who I was and see that I cared enough to ask these questions, to keep going forward and to keep showing up,” he said. “It’s huge. And I think everyone who doesn’t do that is missing out tremendously on a huge part of their education.”
