MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — For more than two decades, Daniel Hartmann carried the weight of a decision he couldn’t undo, leaving college just short of finishing his degree. Now, at 45, the Middle Tennessee State University student and longtime craftsman is preparing to graduate on Friday, May 8, at Murphy Center, turning a long-held sense of regret into a renewed sense of purpose.

A non-traditional student in MTSU’s University College, Hartmann returned to the classroom after nearly 20 years away, balancing family life and running his own business while working toward a goal he once believed had passed him by. What began as a personal commitment to finish what he started has since evolved into a new path forward — highlighted by his acceptance into the Master of Fine Arts program at Cornell University — and a future centered on creativity and becoming the kind of teacher he once needed.

Hartmann’s journey back to finish his degree was shaped by a moment of reflection following a deeply personal loss, which prompted him to reconsider what the next chapter of his life would look like. Encouraged by his wife and drawn to the flexibility offered through MTSU’s Adult Degree Completion Program, he built a path that allowed him to make use of past coursework while rediscovering something that had been there all along — a creative instinct that, for the first time, he chose to pursue through photography.

“Photography has always been along for the ride throughout my life,” Hartmann said.

For much of that ride, though, the destination remained unclear. The father of four first attended Marshall University in the early 2000s, where he accumulated more than 90 credit hours toward a degree in physics before an unexpected setback changed his trajectory. Facing the prospect of being pushed back a year due to a language requirement, he made the difficult decision to leave school — a choice that felt practical at the time, but one that would stay with him for years to come.

What followed was a new chapter in his life: building a family with his wife, raising four sons and eventually starting a small, one-man furniture business of his own.

But some unfinished business remained.

“I spent the intervening 20 years out of school feeling a pretty large sense of shame and regret about not graduating,” Hartmann said.

After the loss of his mother in 2020, Hartmann began to see things differently, slowing down to take stock of where he was and where he wanted to go.

“I wasn’t happy with the direction my life was going,” he said. “I felt like there was something missing.”

What had been missing for Hartmann was the structure and flexibility he needed to complete his degree. MTSU’s Adult Degree Completion Program allowed him to re-enter the classroom in a way that felt both practical and achievable.

“I was really encouraged when I saw how many programs there were for adult learners and for non-traditional students,” Hartmann said. “It made that process a little less daunting for me.”

Enrolling through University College, Hartmann pursued an interdisciplinary studies degree that allowed him to maximize previously earned credits while focusing on areas that aligned with his interests. With a strong academic foundation already in place, he was able to move quickly into upper-level coursework, including photography classes, where faculty welcomed him into the program despite not being enrolled in the traditional Bachelor of Fine Arts track.

That flexibility proved pivotal, but it was his connection with MTSU’s photography faculty that truly reshaped his experience. Through their mentorship, Hartmann began to see his work — and his potential — differently, gaining both the confidence and direction to pursue photography more seriously.

“I’ve always been a creative person,” he said. “From a very young age, I drew, I painted — I couldn’t get enough of that.”

That creative instinct had taken different forms over time. His furniture business began out of necessity but evolved into a meaningful outlet for expression, allowing him to design and build custom pieces by hand. What started with a simple need for a dining room table soon grew into a long-standing craft, one that challenged him to understand both the technical and artistic sides of building from scratch.

“Wood is a very inconsistent material,” Hartmann said. “There’s definitely a learning curve, and that felt like a good challenge that I was willing to try to learn and overcome.”

While the work required both patience and precision, it also allowed him to explore design in a way he never had before.

“At the end of the day, a table has to function as a table,” he said. “But there’s a lot of latitude for design in that — and that’s what I really enjoyed.”

Photography, he said, offers a similar balance, combining technical skill with creative freedom but with a different kind of immediacy and storytelling. Together, the two disciplines reflect a consistent thread in his life: a desire to create, to understand how things work, and to shape something meaningful from the ground up.

With graduation now in sight, Hartmann is focused on what comes next.

Recently accepted into the Master of Fine Arts program at Cornell, he will begin graduate study in photography this summer, a milestone that reflects both his growth as an artist and the momentum he’s built since returning to school.

“The big motivation for me is becoming a better artist and also teaching,” he said. “I’ve always been drawn to teaching. I love connecting with people, and I hope I can be that for someone else — the kind of teacher I wish I had.”

For others considering a similar path, his advice is simple.

“Just show up,” he said. “The first step’s always the hardest one. Everything looks more difficult from the outside, but once you get there and start, it begins to take shape.”

For more information about the flexible interdisciplinary degrees offered through the Adult Degree Completion Program, visit mtsu.edu/finishnow.

—   Dustin Stout (dustin.stout@mtsu.edu)