What does it take to stay motivated when life does not go as planned?

In this episode of Campus Chronicles, Brooke Young speaks with Kalli Gregory, a student, artist, and advocate whose story redefines what it means to persevere. Kalli is a senior studying Neuroscience with a minor in Psychology at Bowling Green State University. She is also the founder of Trent’s Triumph, a nonprofit initiative inspired by her brother’s journey with cerebral palsy, and the owner of Kalli’s Creative Corner, a custom portrait and card service celebrating creativity and compassion.

Her path to a degree has been anything but traditional, taking seven years instead of four, but it is a journey filled with heart, purpose, and resilience. From caring for her nana and navigating COVID setbacks to balancing advocacy, academics, and art, Kalli shares how staying grounded in her why kept her going.

You will learn:

• Why your path does not have to look like anyone else’s
• How to turn personal challenges into platforms for change
• Simple ways to balance service, school, and self-care
• The importance of journaling for emotional health and focus
• Kalli’s top three lessons for students: do not compare, stay motivated, and lead with heart

Connect with Kalli:

🌐 Facebook

📸 Instagram

(Upbeat Music)

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redefining what it means

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to thrive in university.

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Hallie, you are a busy bee with all of

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the different amazing, incredible

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advocacy work that you do while still

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being a university student and doing a

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bunch of extracurriculars that I know

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we're gonna get into.

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But before we dive into all of that, what

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is your Campus Chronicles story?

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So I have a very unique path to obtaining

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my bachelor's degree.

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Historically, it's a four year degree,

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but it's taken me seven years in order to

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see the end of the line for graduation.

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I have not given up and

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I've kept pushing through.

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My nana, my sophomore year of college,

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she became very ill and I wanted to take

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care of her and my family did too.

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So we did everything in our

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power to keep her at our house.

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But that meant me focusing a lot of my

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time on her and I would stay up all night

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long and I would help her during the

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middle of the night and I would go to

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school in 20 minutes of sleep.

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And I pushed through that part of my life

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and then COVID came and

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I'm a neuroscience major.

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So I have a lot of labs and my university

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kicked all of our labs online.

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I said, I'm not

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paying for my labs online.

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So I took one or two classes during that

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time online, but that also backlogged my

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expected graduation date.

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I kept pushing through because I have

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this passion for helping those with

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cerebral palsy like my brother Trent.

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And so I just kept pushing and pushing

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and pushing and I realized my passions

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and my motivations

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for pushing me forward.

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I could have very easily

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given up, but I didn't.

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And so now I'm expected to graduate in

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December and I'm seeing that finish line

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and I'm so excited and I can't wait.

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Oh, I bet you really can't wait.

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Yes, it's been a long road, but it's so

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worth it when you have those passions

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propelling you forward.

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Well, congratulations on that finish line

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being just a couple months away.

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What you shared about wanting to take

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care of your Nana is a real testament to

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your heart and who you are.

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And your heart is really why I wanted to

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have you on today because

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you are a neuroscience major.

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Let's not pretend that that's an easy

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major because it's not, but I also wanna

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shed light on the other work that you do,

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which is you do a tremendous amount of

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advocacy work that you

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briefly mentioned there.

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Talk about how you got involved in this

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advocacy to begin with and then we'll

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discuss how you balance everything

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because I want your time management tips.

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Yes, so my brother has cerebral palsy,

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which is a motor disorder of the brain.

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There were a lot of mistakes made when he

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was born that caused him to have cerebral

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palsy, which is the

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result of some brain damage.

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And I have grown up with him and I know

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what he's capable of,

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but other people don't.

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So in the sixth grade, I found my voice

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and I found that my voice had power.

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I began giving a presentation to my peers

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because they wanted to know how to

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communicate with my brother.

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They didn't understand that they just can

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go up and talk to him that

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he's just like everyone else.

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And I explained that to them.

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Later after I had given that presentation

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to my peers at a football game, later

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that night, my friends were talking to my

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brother without me being around.

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And in that moment, I

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knew that I had power.

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So I just kept talking to anyone and

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everyone that I knew that those with

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cerebral palsy are just like anyone else.

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They just move differently, which has led

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me to today where I've impacted the lives

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of over 75,000 people.

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I've partnered with national platforms

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and my advocacy just keeps

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going and going and going.

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So I wanna highlight, this is a beautiful

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university student who

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has done this much advocacy.

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For those that are not familiar with what

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you do though, give us just a brief

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snapshot of all you've done

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within your advocacy work.

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Yes, so I raise funds for the Cerebral

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Palsy Alliance Research Foundation as

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well as United Cerebral Palsy to help

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propel that research forward so we can

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better treat those with CP and we can

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diagnose CP earlier.

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I also have a free children's activity

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book that teaches our next generation

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what it means to have cerebral palsy and

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then they're just like us,

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they just move differently.

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And I also do a lot of social media work

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highlighting the experiences that my

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brother and others have had that they

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enjoy things in life just like us.

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They just have to do it a little bit

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differently than us.

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One thing I really wanna spotlight is I

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can't imagine it's easy balancing, taking

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care of yourself, balancing your

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academics, your studies,

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alongside all of this advocacy work.

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And I can imagine you have shifting

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priorities and a bit of a push and pull

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sometimes on what takes your attention.

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How do you manage it?

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I think having priorities and having your

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passions at the core of what you are

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doing helps you realize where

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you need to dedicate your time.

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Right now I'm finishing off that final

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semester and I have a

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lot of hard classes.

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And so my top priority right now is

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finishing that degree.

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But at the core of that degree is my

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passions for helping those with cerebral

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palsy lead a fulfilling life.

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And in order to do that, once I get my

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degree, I can push that research forward.

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I can help propel my advocacy as well.

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It's things like that that

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help me keep me motivated.

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Of course, my CP advocacy is something

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that's huge and it's a

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part of my everyday life.

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So finding that balance for me means,

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okay, what can I do today

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to make tomorrow better?

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How do you find the balance to take care

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of you because you're

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always pouring into other people?

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I'm a firm believer and you

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can't pour from an empty cup.

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So if I'm exhausted, I know

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that I can't help my brother.

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I can't help people like him.

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I won't succeed in my academic studies.

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So I make sure to take that time out

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every day to journal,

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I'm a huge journaler.

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I have probably about five that I carry

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around with me every day.

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One for my schedule, one for my advocacy,

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one for my schoolwork, and

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then one for my emotions.

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I also believe in

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fueling your body with food.

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I don't look at food as a pleasurable

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item, but rather food for my body in

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order to do the work that I need to do.

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And that's how I balance that

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juxtaposition of pouring into others, but

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also pouring into myself.

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Did you say you keep a

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journal for your emotions?

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Yes, I do.

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Expand on this.

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So when I was a freshman in high school,

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my dad was tragically killed in a

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motorcycle accident on his way to work.

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After that, I didn't know how to

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comprehend what was going on.

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I struggled, I turned to food as a source

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of comfort, gaining

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nearly 50 pounds in one year.

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And I sat down with myself one day and I

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was like, this is not what

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my dad would want for my life.

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He would want me to be productive.

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He would want me to go make a difference

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in the lives of those around me.

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And so I decided I had to do something

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and I turned to journaling and I got my

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health back on track.

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And I reclaimed that healthy lifestyle

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that I had previously before it passed.

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Now, whatever emotions I have, I write

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them down, I analyze them and say, okay,

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let's look at this in a positive light.

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Also my faith, I'm a huge believer in God

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and my faith has helped

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propel me through as well.

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When you look at that emotion journal,

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like as you're going through your busy

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lifestyle and your busy

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days, do you notice patterns?

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When I am very stressed out, I notice

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that there's more heightened emotions,

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but I also throughout these years, have

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realized how to recognize those and what

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I need to do for myself in order to get

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back to who I am in the

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positivity and spreading.

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And that's how I get that energy back

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into my cup so I can pour into others.

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One thing I love about what you're

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saying, right, is you have this deep

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desire and this deep heart to serve.

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And there is sometimes misinformation in

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my opinion or negative opinions about the

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younger generation that's coming up.

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Sometimes people say that they focus too

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much on social media or they're not

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caring enough, but you're in a shining

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and really truly wonderful example of

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somebody from a younger generation making

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a profound difference.

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How do you think you being this advocate,

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doing this work shows other people that

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they can make a difference?

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I think if you look at my story, it's

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very easy for someone in

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my position to give up.

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But when you have the light of Jesus

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within you and you have this passion to

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make a change in the world, you can

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really do incredible things.

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I look at my brother every day as my

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motivation and he is the

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key factor in everything I do.

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He's the reason that I'm pursuing

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neuroscience because like

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you said, it is not easy.

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It's not an easy course to

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study, not even a little bit.

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No, it's not.

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But when you realize your why and when

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you solidify that, you are

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able to do incredible things.

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What would you say to someone who wants

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to start advocacy or wants to start

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speaking out, but they're scared of how

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other people might think about them?

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Just do it.

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When you-- I like it.

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Yes.

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I think that jumping into the pool of

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advocacy can

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sometimes be scary for people.

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I know for me, it took me getting up in

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front of a whole classroom of sixth

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graders that all have their own opinions.

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But what I've realized is when you have a

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passion and you have that drive inside of

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you and you have motivation from those

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around you to make a

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change, you can do it.

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Always keep your why.

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When you have a strong foundational why,

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everyone's opinions do not matter.

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I love that.

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And for someone that has not cultivated a

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why, how do you do that?

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How did you do that as an example?

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So I was pretty young when I figured out

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my why, but it's because I realized that

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people around me viewed my brother

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differently than I did.

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And I said, why do people look at him and

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just see his wheelchair?

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He is so much more than that.

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And I wanna make a change.

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And I made that change by talking in my

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sixth grade classroom.

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And so anyone that's looking to form

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their why, looking for something that you

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feel like is wrong in this world, that

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you want to change,

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how did it affect you?

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What is your story?

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And what can you do to

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make a difference about it?

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And there is so much that does need to be

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shifted and does need to

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be changed in our world.

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So you really are not gonna have to look

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that hard to find something that you feel

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passionately about and that you wanna

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make a difference regarding.

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Callie, I wanna shift this conversation

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in a slightly different direction because

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it's a curiosity question from me.

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Have you ever come across someone who

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perhaps underestimated you because of

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your age as you do this work?

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Yeah, I think people look at me and they

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realize that I'm young, but then I tell

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them everything that I've done and what I

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stand for, and then they

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kind of open their eyes.

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I've had people doubt

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me from all aspects.

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But like I said, when you have that why

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and that motivation, like I look at my

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brother and those

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haters become my motivators.

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That's a big phrase

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that I use in my house.

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But when I have those people that look at

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me and say, you're young, you can't do

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this, I say, watch me.

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You are truly a testament to, I think

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just having so much passion and a fire.

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And if I may, I would really like to have

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half the energy in a day that you have.

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If I could just siphon some of your

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energy, that would be

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nice, that would be great.

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(Laughing)

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Speaking of energy and time management,

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what does a typical day

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look like and your schedule?

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How do you manage your time?

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I, like I said, I love to journal.

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I break, I do this thing,

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it's called schedule blocking.

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So I break my day up into however many

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minutes I need to allocate for something.

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Today I was up at 6 a.m. to drive to

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Bowling Green to take my

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organic chemistry class.

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And then God bless my

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mom, she took me to school.

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So on the way home, I worked on homework.

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And I think it's just finding those

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little pockets in the day where you can

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get something off your to-do list.

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I always take my to-do list, I break it

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down, I allocate the time for it.

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And if I don't get it all done, I just

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shift it to the next day.

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And calendars and

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schedules are my best friend.

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How do you avoid distractions, especially

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in a world that's full of them,

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particularly on social media?

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Yes, I use an app called

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Focus Friend on my phone.

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And you basically set this timer and it

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locks you out of all of your apps.

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You don't get any notifications.

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And when I have to be locked in on

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something, whether it's school or my

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advocacy, I turn that on for two hours

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and I don't look at my phone at all.

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I also have timers on my social medias.

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So I only allocate so much time a day to

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be scrolling or posting or whatever I

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need to be doing on there.

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If you spend so much time in social

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media, and I know I'm certainly guilty of

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this, it's easy to become chronically

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outraged by the things you see, but that

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puts you in a position in a state where

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you're essentially stuck.

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You feel paralyzed because the problems

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feel insurmountably big.

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Yes, I agree with that.

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That's why limiting your time on social

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media the best you can is one of the

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biggest tools to be successful and to

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become a leader in society.

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I would really like to dive into the

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seven years bachelor conversation

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because I'm sure at points during that

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journey, you felt really, really

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exhausted and I'm sure thankless.

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As a seven years for essentially what is

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generally speaking a four year degree,

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what have you learned about being in that

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bachelor's program longer throughout the

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seven years that you didn't think you

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would learn in four?

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Your path is defined by

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your path, not anyone else's.

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Comparison is the thief of joy.

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The path that I'm going is unique and

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it's different than all

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of my peers around me.

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But when I take that step back and I say,

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okay, in these seven

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years, what has happened?

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I've been backlogged by the pandemic.

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I started a business

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during that time as well.

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I really ramped up my cerebral palsy

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advocacy and I've got a valuable

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education instead of just a diploma.

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I know sometimes people will dive in and

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they'll take 19 credit hours because they

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wanna get the degree done.

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But I look at education as

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the foundation for what is next.

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You can't have a Rocky Foundation and if

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I would have taken those classes during

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the pandemic, I would have had a Rocky

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Foundation for my next chapter in life.

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I had to choose that for me because

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that's what was best at the time.

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For someone else, their

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story might be different.

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But not attending labs because we were

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all locked in our houses is not something

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that I wanted to do.

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I wanted that valuable, crispy education

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instead of just the piece of

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paper at the end of the tunnel.

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I love that.

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Did you ever feel any sort of guilt or

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shame over the decision or were you

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always pretty steadfast?

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There were times where I was upset that I

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was gonna graduate later than everyone

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else around me and I feel like their life

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was propelling me for mine.

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But my mom and I sat down and had a

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conversation about it and

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she agreed with my decision.

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She said, "You're in college for an

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education, "not for a piece of paper.

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"If we're gonna be paying for this,

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"you're gonna get that robust education."

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And I think having that conversation with

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her was something that helped me change

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my mindset and realize that my path is my

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own and not to

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compare it to anyone else's.

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Moms are so special.

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Oh my gosh, yes.

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My mom is the most

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wonderful person that I've ever met.

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She will give the shirt off her back to

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someone if they need it.

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That's beautiful.

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And I love what you said about the

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foundation for your next chapter.

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What is the foundation that you're

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building today for your next chapter and

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how are you building it?

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So my next chapter is going to get a

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master's of psychology and by building

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that foundation, I need to have those

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good classes, be studying my neuroscience

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classes very intensely and very deeply,

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but also absorbing the information so I

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can go and obtain that master's of

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psychology, which is my next step.

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But it's also to

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further my advocacy work.

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That's something that's deeply important

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to me because anyone who's

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listening has figured out by now.

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And in order to have that solid

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foundation, I need to continue to

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advocate in any area of life that I can,

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regardless of it's just going into a

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smoothie shop and speaking my mind about

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there not being a door that my brother's

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able to open or going and saying, "Hey,

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this trash can's inaccessible because

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someone that uses a

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wheelchair can't open it."

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It's little things like that that help

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build that solid foundation to get on

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that larger stage and

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confidently share my message.

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Is the goal to become Dr.

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Gregory?

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Yes, it is.

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I assumed.

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Yes, I want to become a

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pediatric neurologist.

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That's my end goal.

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My brother was doubted by a lot of

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neurologists because of

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what some brain scan said.

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And I know that's not true.

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So I want to give my patients hope.

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And that's the end goal regardless of how

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long it takes me to get there.

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That's the end goal.

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Well, from the conversation we've had, I

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don't think it'll be too challenging for

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you to stay motivated.

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With the tools that you're using, and I

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think really just the passion and the

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energy that you have as a person, I want

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to ask you an interesting question.

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So if you were going to give three pieces

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of advice to university-age students,

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what would those

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three pieces of advice be?

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Don't compare yourself to others.

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Comparison is the thief of joy.

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That's advice number one.

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Advice number two, your path is your own.

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Regardless of how you get

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there, it doesn't matter.

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As long as you finish what you started.

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And piece number three, have motivation

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outside of just getting

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a diploma to your degree.

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Regardless if that's,

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I want to help kids.

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I want to make a

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difference in my community.

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Or like me, I want to help those with

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cerebral palsy lead a fulfilling life.

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Callie, as we wrap up, is there anything

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you want to share that I did not ask you?

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Oh my, we have discussed so much.

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But I think with our viewers, really I

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would like to share to stay motivated at

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the core of who you are.

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Solidify that why early on

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in your university journey.

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Because when you have a why that's bigger

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than a degree, you are more

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motivated to propel forward.

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You're excited about learning.

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You can achieve so much more when you

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have that passion and motivation outside

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of just a piece of paper.

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That's beautiful.

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I've had so much fun with you Callie.

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If someone loves this conversation, they

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want to find your social media platforms

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to learn about your work and

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the stuff that you're doing.

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Where do they go?

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I'm on Facebook as Callie Gregory and I'm

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also on Instagram as at CallieGregory_.

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Thank you.

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I think your message

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really resonated for me.

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I likely have not shared this on the

587

podcast before but similar to Callie, I

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started in volunteering, advocacy,

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service, whatever word

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you would want to use.

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Fairly young, I trained therapy dogs and

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then took those to nursing homes.

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And like Callie, I

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actually have a children's book.

595

So I love to spotlight people who have

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something that they truly and deeply care

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about and then what they

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do with that in the world.

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And I think Callie is a beautiful example

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of, this is my lived experience.

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These are the things that I have seen and

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here's how I'm going to choose to serve

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to make the world a better place because

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we all want the world to be kinder, more

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receptive, more loving.

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But until we actually take the action

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that we can take, that we have a passion

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for, the world will likely be stagnant.

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So huge applause to people like Callie

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who are balancing university, who are

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balancing coursework, balancing jobs and

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still doing all this.

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So you have a lot of applause from me.

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And I know from all of our listeners too.

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So thank you for coming on.

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Oh, thank you so much for having me.

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This was wonderful.

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And I wish all the viewers luck with

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their university journey

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and their life journey.

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Well, Callie, thank you so much for

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joining us and thank you everyone for

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joining us on another episode of the

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Campus Chronicles Podcast.

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(Upbeat Music)

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So if today's episode gave you life,

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perspective, or just a much needed moment

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to breathe in a busy world, I don't want

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you to keep it to yourself.

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Share it, tag us, please send it to a

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Go to

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Sign up now and let's make this next

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surviving and start thriving.

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Until next time, stay bold, stay curious,

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keep writing your own chapter.

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This is Campus Chronicles.