Mark Litton’s path to college graduation is not your typical story. But he’s not a typical student.

The recent Western Washington University graduate and Sedro-Woolley resident will be attending Pacific Northwest University starting in August to become a doctor of osteopathy.

But how Litton, a 35-year-old married father of two, reached that point is atypical of many students.

Litton, a Wyoming native, dropped out of high school after his freshman year. He spent the next 12 years traveling to Africa, Egypt and other countries as a volunteer with Youth With A Mission, a Christian nonprofit dedicated to international mission work.

Although he eventually earned a GED, it was one of his trips abroad that he saw a career path in medicine.

Litton was working in Kenya at the time, when a boat with two physicians from Montana pulled ashore. The men asked Litton if he could help them carry pharmaceutical supplies up to the local orphanage.

Then it struck him.

“I thought, ‘These guys are having such an impact here,” Litton said. “We were helping out (with the mission), and it was neat to put a roof over peoples’ heads, but these two guys were really making a difference.”

Litton said at that time he wanted to become a pharmacist. But Litton becoming a doctor seemed unlikely at the time.

“An M.D. for a drop out seemed too far out,” he said.

Nevertheless, Litton and his wife, Teresa, moved to the Northwest to be closer to family. Mark Litton enrolled at Skagit Valley College and began to work toward his goal.

Litton put in 70-80 hours per week studying and attending classes.

His work ethic was paying off — he was earning mostly As during his stint with the college.

But two family emergencies postponed his career.

In 2001, Litton’s father was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. He passed away in early 2002. About a year later, his sister began losing her fight with melanoma.

During that time, Litton became used to his frequent trips to visit family at the hospital during treatment. He said he became comfortable in the medical environment, and saw the respect that doctors gave their patients on a first-hand level.

“It was a comforting process,” Litton said. “I realized that I could complete the steps to do this.”

Litton changed his emphasis from pharmaceuticals to the medical field, and graduated from Skagit Valley College with a President’s Medal for Academic Achievement. He also received the Sidney S. McIntyre, Jr. Memorial Scholarship, which would fund his next two years of study at WWU.

He opted for a double major in biology and anthropology while at the university, and commuted to Bellingham from Sedro-Woolley for classes. Teresa also joined him at the school.

“Before that, I didn’t even know what anthropology was,” he said. “I realized it was something that I had already been studying for the past 13 years.”

Mark Litton graduated earlier this month, and has been accepted at PNU to study osteopathy, which shares many similarities to doctor of medicine. He’ll be attending the university, which opened its doors earlier this year.

“It’s almost like I’m in shock,” Litton said. “It’s been such a crazy five years. It just hasn’t sunk in yet.”