Kim
Both
my parents had only a high school education. My father was a military man; my
mother was a cashier. I would say we were barely working class. We lived in
Bangor, Maine all my life, where I attended public school. I did pretty well in
elementary school, both socially and academically. However, in the winter of my
sixth grade year my father went to jail for a six-month term. The reason why he
had been incarcerated was printed in the newspaper, so everyone in my grade
knew. Consequently, I was teased and excluded from my group of friends. I began
to hate school, and truancy became an issue. Being on the lower rungs of the
"social" class, and having gaps in my knowledge from absences was a problem for
the rest of my public school career. I could do well in classes if I had a basic
understanding of the topic, so my GPA was a B- when I graduated. But I never
tried very hard at anything I did, because I felt whatever I tried would not
make a difference. When I graduated I planned to take a year off and work,
because I was not really sure what I wanted to do next. I began working as a
cashier in a store my mother had worked at previously. If nothing in my life had
changed, I would probably still be working as a cashier today, being that I had
no training, qualification, or skill to do anything else.
The turning point that motivated me to change was getting pregnant. For the
months prior to learning of my pregnancy I 'partied' all the times I was not
working or sleeping. My boyfriend at the time and I bonded over this lifestyle
and had little cares for anything else. Then BANG, fate or some high power
intervened. Getting pregnant gave me a cause to want to be different. I think my
daughter was sent to rescue me from the hell I had created in my life. Soon
after she was born, my boyfriend (her father) and I broke up. I was so scared
because I had nothing. I was on welfare, I worked at a minimum wage job were
there was no hope of getting benefits or enough money to care from her
adequately
on my own. The only shot I had was (somehow) getting into college. But my high
school grades were not stellar, and my SAT scores were low, so I honestly
believed there was no chance. However, Onward stepped in and gave me a chance to
succeed by teaching me how.
Onward helped me in so many ways. The most important thing they did for me was
believe in me enough to let me in! They must have seen something in me that was
different than what I saw in myself at that time, because I thought I had no
chance. Once I began school, the staff taught me that I could be successful if I
worked hard, and when I did do well they were proud of me. I had all the support
I could have asked for during the rocky days of my first year at UMaine. I
learned so much from them--everything I needed to do well in my classes. They
truly helped me reach--even far surpass--my educational goals because I now keep
setting them higher and higher. I still use the skills I learned in Onward to
help me in my classes. These skills are so fundamental to my education I do not
know what I would do without them.
I have a 3.77 GPA, and have been on the Dean's List every semester since
beginning school here five years ago. I have earned a Presidential Pin and I have
placement in the National Collegiate Scholars Association and the Golden Key
International Honors society. I will graduate magna cum laude next year.
I am currently a social work major, with a minor in psychology and a
concentration in disabilities studies. I plan to graduate this year, but will
continue in the fall of 2006 in the MSW program here at UMaine. After I have
completely my masters, I plan on going on to law school. When I have completed
my college education, I plan on working in advocacy and in participating in some
multidisciplinary activities.
My decision to attend college completely changed my life. It gave me a chance to
be successful. It gave me the opportunity to prove to myself, my family, and
anyone else that I could do it--that I could do anything I wanted to. My
decision to attend college will allow me to take care of my daughter for the
years to come, to be a professional, to have credentials, and to have a career
(not a series of low-income jobs). I will be forever grateful for the chances I
have been given to get to where I am today.
