F E AT U R E S T O R Y
ON THE ROAD TO RECOVERY:
EDUCATION PAVES THE WAY FOR TWO WARRIORS By gina oltman
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or some students, just enrolling at Stanislaus State is a major victory. They have spent years struggling with drug addiction, alcoholism, homelessness and indigence. In their darkest moments, they doubted they would ever start or resume their college educations. But once they start attending classes, these students embark on an educational journey that changes the trajectory of their lives and the futures of their families. As they work toward a degree, they develop the soft skills they need to succeed in the workforce, and they find the en ouragement and confi ence to persevere in recovery. Many of these students also discover that their greatest desire is to give back to their community by helping others overcome the obstacles they know so well. Here are the stories of two such Stan State students.
STA N M AGA Z I N E
Katharine Wallace When Stanislaus State Stockton Campus student Katherine Wallace was awarded a $1,500 scholarship from the Stockton Host Lions Club last fall, she was caught completely off-gua d. “They knew my story, and they knew I wasn’t going to have financ al aid for the next semester,” said Wallace, a mother of three who works waiting tables at Bud’s Seafood Grille, where the Lions meet. “So, they surprised me with this scholarship. It was amazing. I’m so grateful for their help.” Wallace’s story is a saga of life’s unexpected turns and the power of hope, tenacity and transformation. Married in her 20s, she spent several years as a wife and stay-at-home mom of three before she started turning to alcohol whenever she felt the need to escape. That led to alcoholism, which led to homelessness and, eventually, “losing everything.”
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“I had gotten a DUI, and I lost my car and apartment, and I was in jail,” she recalled. “I didn’t know where I was going to go or what to do. I didn’t know anything about the services available to me or how to get help.” It was the court system that directed her to the services that helped her achieve sobriety and rebuild her life. She started her recovery with the Gospel Center Rescue Mission, then moved on to Lily Pad Living, a soberliving house where the compassionate approach of the people running it helped her better understand her physical addiction, rediscover her confi ence and change her life. “I learned to trust again,” she said. “I learned to trust myself. I started trusting my higher power that I would be OK, and I reunited with my children, who I am very close to.” As she made progress, she knew the time was right for her to resume the college education she had started years earlier at Columbia College in Sonora. She enrolled at San Joaquin Delta College and eventually made a smooth transfer to Stan State through the Warriors on the Way (WOW) program. Now three years sober with the help of a 12-step program, she is volunteering at Lily Pad Living and working steadily toward earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology. She thinks about pursuing a master’s degree and believes her personal experiences position her for a career helping people who are homeless or addicted because she understands what they are going through.
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