My path to literacy has been something of a dead reckoning most of my life. At a very young age I was written off by the traditional system due to a family tragedy that paralyzed my ability to respond to institutional education. And, I think I wrote off the “system” as well. I managed to get through high school as an average student and was not successful at college. I took learning into my own hands because I desperately wanted to know and understand the world around me. I was a whiz at teaching myself such things as computer repair and maintenance, computer applications, and whatever I put my mind to. However, I lacked the certifications and diplomas to command higher wages or a resume that led to promotions. I had no credentials and that’s as bad as no credit.

The Washington State Unemployment Service decided to send me back to school for retraining in 2003. I chose the Library Technician program at Highline Community College and hoped for some kind of second chance. Remarkably, moxie and diligence paid off and I achieved a GPA I never dreamed possible. But I still could not really navigate in the system…until I met Dr. Clinton and entered the Honors Program. The Honors Program is like Meta-education. She skillfully guided me into an understanding of the larger schema of American higher education. I learned how to turn a good GPA into currency to buy into the next degree. I learned how to present my own native skills and turn my passion for community service into currencies that earned me dividends like the legislative WAVE Scholarship, the Highline Academic Achievement Award, Who’s Who Among Students in American Junior Colleges, and the National Dean’s List. Doors like these opening up afforded me the ability to finish my baccalaureate degree at The Evergreen State College. Greatest of all, the Honors Program has equipped me with navigation literacy, and a dream of a graduate degree for which I am sincerely grateful.