May 25, 2011
^ortlanh (Observer
Page 5
World
Mt. Hood
students
overcome
obstacles
Mt. H ood C om m unity C o l­
lege counts m any hardw orking,
accom plished and truly am azing
individuals am ong its 33,(XX) stu­
dents. But perhaps none repre­
sent that absolute best in “earned
potential” than O njalai Flake and
D rew R aine, w ho w ere recently
selected to the 2011 A ll-O regon
A cadem ic T eam Scholars.
T he aw ard reco g n izes o u t­
standing students for their aca­
dem ic achievem ent and co m ­
m itm ent to public service. All 40
O regon A cadem ic T eam S ch o l­
ars w ere presented w ith m ed al­
lio n s by O re g o n G o v . Jo h n
K itzh aber on the floor o f the Drew Raine (left) and Onjalai Flake earn honors for their
commitment to public service.
H ouse o f R epresentatives.
Flake, at 25 years old, has plished m uch in the past tw o w e ren ’t enough, she suffered a
lived a lifetim e - and then som e. years at M H C C . She chartered stroke at age 18 that nearly d e ­
“I co n sid er m y se lf to be the the C o lle g e ’s first B lack Student stroyed her arm .
ultim ate su rv iv o r,” she says. “In U nion, serves as an officer o f
A f te r y e a r s o f p h y s ic a l
the past few years, I have su r­ Phi T heta K appa, the interna­ therapy, R aine is now fully re­
vived cancer, buried m y father tional honor society o f tw o-year c o v e r e d , b u t s a y s sh e w a s
and o th er relatives and helped colleges, and has a resum e filled “ fo rce d to sp e n d h e r h eard -
m y m om battle an ad v an ced w ith scholarships and accolades. e am ed co lleg e m oney on d o c ­
stage o f breast can cer.” A nd,
A fter graduating from M H C C to rs’ fees.”
she assum ed this huge resp o n si­ Ju n e 11, she p lan s to atten d
A rm ed w ith d eterm in atio n to
bility w hile taking a full load o f G eorge Fox U niversity and m a­ continue her ed u catio n , she e n ­
classes at M H C C .
jo r in com m unication arts and rolled in the T ransitions program
“T hree years ago a series o f m inor in jo u rn alism b roadcast­ at M H C C . T ran sitio n s is a c a ­
unfo rtu nate events w ithin m y ing.
reer planning and college p rep a­
fa m ily b ro u g h t m e fro m St.
F or R aine, m any people b e­ ration p rogram fo r single p ar­
L ouis, M o., to P ortland,” says lieved that a college education ents, disp laced hom em akers and
Flake, w ho is one o f nine c h il­ w as a long shot for this 31 -year- w om en w ith low incom e w ho
dren. “B ecause o f this m ove, I old w om an. C o m p u ter illiterate, have faced significant life c h al­
had the unique opportunity to low incom e, single parent, a learn­ lenges.
a tte n d c o lle g e th r o u g h m y ing disability - and, as if that
“As a single m other struggling
fa th e r’s v e te ra n s ’ b e n efits. I
w ould be a first generation, non-
traditional student. Fear, doubt
and w orry quickly rushed in and
led m e to w onder w hether co l­
lege w as the right choice for
m e.
academic achievement and
for self-sufficiency, I did not have
the skills to provide a sustainable
future for m y fam ily. I needed to
becom e co m p u ter literate ju st to
fill out a jo b application. T he
p ro cess o f en ro llin g in college
in tim id ated m e,” she says. “T he
T ran sitio n s pro g ram taught m e
how to identify m y skills, e x ­
p o sed m e to the reso u rces that
Your Care
Our First
Priority
Be safe
H ow ever, w hen she found an
M H C C course catalog in her
m ailbox w ith large w riting urg­
ing her to “be y o u r d ream ,” she
had no doubt that college - and
M H C C in particu lar - w ere the
rig h t path.
“A nd, it turned out to be one
o f the best d ecisions o f m y life,”
say s F lak e, w ho has accom -
4 4 1
have m ade m e a successful stu ­
dent and allow ed m e to tran s­
form from sim ply surviving to
thriving.”
T h ro u g h T ran sitio n s, R aine
says she is able to “ reco g n ize the
unique trials o f o u r lives, look
past the trap p in g s o f o u r cultures
and previous experience and into
the unique talents o f the w om en
around us. A s I let go o f m y
assu m p tio n s, learned to value
m y talents and em p lo y ed in ter­
d e p en d en ce, I d isc o v ere d the
p o w er o f m y voice. N ow , I w ant
to support that tran sfo rm ativ e
p ro c e ss fo r o th e rs as a p e e r
m en to r.”
She now has h er sights set on
earn in g an asso ciate d eg ree next
y e a r in C o m p u ter Inform ation
S ystem s w ith a focus on d ata­
base d ev elo p m en t. She plans to
tra n sfe r to W a sh in g to n S tate
U niversity V an co u v er and p u r­
sue a b a c h e lo r’s d eg ree in b u si­
ness w ith a focus on M an ag e­
m ent In form ation S ystem s.
Both Flake and R aine credit
M H C C w ith p laying a large role
in their selection as A ll-O regon
A cadem ic T eam Scholars: In­
stru cto rs em p o w er them , fellow
students inspire them and their
ow n personal ch allen g es p ro ­
vide a strong sense o f p urpose in
th eir lives.
Dr. Marcelitte
FaiUa
Chiropractic
Physician
Stay off
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