Student overcomes COVID-19 to pursue accounting associate degree

LEVELLAND -- Byron S. Perez has lived his life by taking one day at a time and keeping his eyes on the prize. The Littlefield native said he has always had goals and set his mind on achieving them.

When he graduated from Littlefield High School in 2010, he decided to enroll in a phlebotomy course at the South Plains College campus in Levelland. Upon completion, he started working in an internship program at the University Medical Center but later decided that he wouldn’t pursue a job in that field.

"Two years later, I came back to SPC to study Business Administration, "he said. "I spent one semester in school before I decided to just go to work with my dad at his flooring business, All in One Flooring. As a first-generation college student, I think I was just trying to find what I liked after high school. "

Perez worked with his father for a few years before enrolling at Kaplan College in 2015. He earned his associate’s degree in business administration. In 2018, Perez moved to Roswell, N.M., where he applied for a position as a Revenue Agent for the State of New Mexico.

"All they needed was a copy of my transcript, so I called Kaplan, but I was unsuccessful in getting the transcript," he said. "He said he was told by Kaplan that there were no records that showed he attended the school."

Frustrated by the experience, Perez moved back to Lubbock, where he applied to Lubbock Christian University. Once again, he saw the doors close before his eyes because none of the credits he had taken at Kaplan transferred to LCU.

It didn’t take long for Perez to find his footing, and he returned to SPC. He enrolled in accounting associate online classes at the SPC Lubbock Center campus. He took a job working at Door Dash because he said it fit his school schedule.

Everything seemed positive and successful for Perez until Aug. 7, 2021, when he was diagnosed with COVID-19.

"I spent two weeks in the hospital before coming home," he said. "While at home, my heart rate rose to 140 beats per minute for two days. I called the ER, and I was readmitted to the hospital because of the stress on my heart."

Three weeks later, on Sept. 8, Perez was released from the hospital. He credited his recovery to his roommate, Kevin Silva, who also had contracted the virus, but he quickly recovered. Perez said his family – mom Brigitte Soria, father Cheo Perez and brother Tyler Perez – all lived in Littlefield and they were unable to visit him during his bout with COVID-10 because they had also contracted the virus. He also learned that had he not started showing signs of improvement when he did, he would have found himself transferred to the ICU and possibly connected to a ventilator.

"I told myself to focus on getting better every day until I did," he said.

When he picked up his online courses, he managed to catch up within a week and excelled throughout the semester. Perez almost had a perfect score on the Quickbook Certification Examination. He earned 890 out of 1,000 points overall. That accomplishment also helped him land a job with a local certified public accounting firm during the Christmas break.

Perez’s happiness is short-lived. A health crisis occurred in January 2022 after only a few weeks at his new job. He had been diagnosed with a brain tumor on his pituitary gland in 2019, and now the tumor had returned.

"After telling my new boss about the tumor, I told him that I needed to focus on my health and that I had to leave my new job," he said.

Perez said he takes life day-by-day and stays positive about the potential outcome of his medical treatments. He is scheduled to undergo an MRI in early March.

"One thing I’ve learned is that I won’t let the tumor control the outcome of my life," he said. "I just turned 30 on Feb. 1, and I’m working hard to stay the course so that I can graduate in December 2022."

Perez was named to the SPC Dean’s List for the past two semesters. He said he is striving to achieve that honor again at the end of the spring 2022 semester.

The Associate of Applied Science Degree in Accounting degree plan is a technical degree designed for students that plan to enter the workforce upon completion of the degree. 

Students that choose this degree will complete a strong core of accounting courses and can choose electives that will broaden overall business skills.