Because of
new social concerns, such as unemployment and financial
insecurity, learning a profession all of a sudden provided a
better guarantee to finding work than getting a degree at a
university. Later, after immigrating to the US in 1997 and
getting married, my dream kept getting drowned by personal
doubts about my academic readiness, language skills, and
financial ability to attend college…for seven long years.
When an
apprenticeship opportunity presented itself through my employer,
I grabbed that tiny straw of rekindled hope and enrolled at
Highline CC for classes. I did well and soon decided to take
additional courses for an AA degree and then continue to become
a teacher.
Although
the Honors Scholar program was mentioned and recommended to me
by my faculty advisor early on, I had no clear understanding of
what it was and what it offered, so I put taking Honors 100 off
until I had only two quarters left at Highline. How I wished at
that point that I had joined the program much earlier! Besides
teaching how to effectively write personal statements, resumes,
and scholarship essays, Dr. Barbara Clinton also provided
assistance in searching for scholarships. She helped each one of
her students to find and present that special something that
could make them stand out from other scholarship applicants.
I was
considering transferring to the UW Tacoma’s Interdisciplinary
Arts and Sciences program, but my old doubts still had a grip on
me. Dr. Clinton made me aware of the Next Step scholarship
offered by the UWT, blew away my doubts of ‘not being worthy’
and encouraged me to apply. She was with me every step of the
way, reviewing essay drafts, and even writing a letter of
recommendation on my behalf.
Today, it
still seems surreal that I’ll be attending the UW Tacoma this
fall, with tuition, fees, and possibly books paid for by the
Next Step scholarship. I will be studying Interdisciplinary Arts
and Sciences with a minor in Education. I’m leaving Highline CC
and the Honors program as a new, more self-aware person, knowing
that my story is worth telling, and having the confidence that I
can live up to any of my high expectations. Thanks, Dr. Clinton!
