College Dropout to Law School, One Man’s Incredible Journey

To see Dan Koblitz today—a successful lawyer, leader, husband and soon to be father—with two graduate degrees from Regent University, one might never guess that for much of his life he had no confidence, no purpose, and no hope for a bright future. “To see where I was, having low self-esteem, didn’t think I was going anywhere in my life, never gonna get married. To be where I am today is nothing short of a miracle,” says Dan.

You see, Dan grew up with a severe stutter and for years was the target of teasing and bullying that destroyed his confidence and created a debilitating fear of speaking in public. “The shame and the fear that goes along with it. Just self-self-confidence,” says Dan. “Just an-an inability to do what you want to do.”

A speech therapist would help Dan eliminate much of his stuttering. He began to thrive in school, and even qualified for the National Honor Society in high school. What he couldn’t conquer was his fear of speaking in public, causing him to drop out of college when a course required him to speak in class. Moving back home and taking a factory job, he found the comfort of alcohol. 

Then finally, at age 30, “I remember looking at my life and saying this isn’t the person I want to be anymore,” says Dan. Again, he started working with a speech pathologist. She was a Christian whose encouragement and influence prompted Dan to go back to college, and inspired him to attend a college Bible study. “That is where I gave my-myself to Christ. From that, God gave me the courage to do so many things,” says Dan. “It really opened up my eyes to another way of living, another way of life. And that’s when I felt God was-had some kind of a plan for me I believed,” says Dan.

“There was something more. It changed me tremendously. It gave me hope, courage to keep moving forward, coming out of my-my comfort zone, and doing new things that I never thought possible.” After earning his bachelor’s degree in Political Science, Dan enrolled in Regent University’s graduate program to pursue a joint degree in Divinity and Law. “They kind of looked at the law through a Christian lens,” says Dan. “I wanted to learn how all this can be tied together you know, my faith and the law—and they helped me do that.”

Dan says that by his second year, he realized he was there to get more than a Christian education—he was there to hear from God. “I sensed that the Lord told me that I am loved and he is with me. I was perfect in his eyes,” says Dan. “And it was the most amazing experience of my life. As I look back, until I could love myself the way Jesus loves me, I couldn’t-couldn’t love others. And I think that was a turning point,” says Dan.

Dan says as his faith deepened, and with the support of professors and the student community, he found a sense of purpose, and the confidence to pursue it. “It caused me to look inwardly at myself, to grow, I think, with Christ, uh in a way I had not-not known before,” says Dan. “I started to gain peace at who I was. I had a lot of people believe in me, and I started to believe more in me that I could do these these many things,” says Dan.

Dan also came to terms with his stuttering that, while largely under control, still intrudes his speech from time to time. “Jesus has really uh removed the negative aspects of stuttering for me,” says Dan. “I many never be comfortably fluent where I never stutter, and that’s okay. ‘Cause, you know, Jesus loves us just as we are.”

Since graduating in 2016, earning a Master’s in Divinity and a Juris Doctorate degree, Dan opened a thriving law practice, married Keyonna and is now starting a family. Together they trust what God has planned, and marvel at what he’s already done. “I have a beautiful wife, a wonderful wife,” says Dan. “I have a child on the way. It’s just amazing. It was just, you know, what God can do in someone’s life. There are just no limits. There are no limits. So, I never rule anything out anymore! God has allowed me to do things in my life that I never thought possible. And, Regent University really helped me get there,” says Dan.