Artist David Carter began studying for his degree at The University of Texas at Austin in 1971, and had just one more semester before he graduated.

Disastrously for the now 65-year-old, David had an accident while intoxicated which severely injured his hand, destroying his ability to draw.

The incident took David into a life of addiction which saw him drop out of university and eventually become homeless.

After a journalist spoke to David while he was begging outside the campus, David was finally able to go back.

Ryan Chandler, a journalism and government student, initially profiled David for a project before deciding to find his transcript and get him to complete his degree.

The university decided to cover the application fees.

Alcalde, the alumni magazine of The University of Texas at Austin, reported that David has been working on restarting his life over the past year.

Nonprofit for the homeless Caritas of Austin was able to find him affordable housing where David is partly responsible for the rent. He also takes work where he can find it and has been working on his sobriety.

The College of Fine Arts agreed to help David pick up his college degree where he left off.

Ryan said David’s story particularly resonated with him. In his earlier project, he wrote: ‘David’s hope for a degree was replaced with destitution, disability and dependence, a fateful combination that left [him] on the street, just as it does to so many other homeless individuals.’

David will commence classes this week and hopes to graduate before his 67th birthday.

‘My dream is to write a great novel. I’ve been writing for 30 years now,’ David told the Alcalde. ‘I want to be sure I make a contribution to posterity.

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