Carnegie Mellon University
May 20, 2020

Chabassol Persists to Become College Grad

Steve Chabassol has finished his “draft” with an exclamation point.

A story of a Carnegie Mellon staff member who earned her CMU degree after a decade has hung in Chabassol’s workspace for seven years. He stamped a red-ink “DRAFT” on it for motivation.

“It inspired me. I thought I can do this, too,” said Chabassol, who became a  first-generation college graduate last Sunday. “I stamped it that way because I was still in draft mode.”

A user interface designer and web developer for Marketing & Communications (M&C), Chabassol has finished his draft in style, graduating with a Bachelor of Humanities and Arts (BXA) degree in creative writing and music technology, with a minor in sound design. He earned university and BXA honors and received a Senior Leadership Recognition Award. He virtually accepted his degree last Sunday at home, celebrating with his wife, two children and proud parents.

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