Instructors provide the support to succeed

Michelle Andrea Craig dropped out of Milwaukie High School during her freshman year because she didn’t feel that she fit in well in the high school cliques and social scene. She entered the Tri City Alternative Program (TCAP) at Clackamas Harmony Campus at the beginning of her sophomore year. She wanted to get her GED, but was only 15 at the time and she needed to be 16. She waited for her 16th birthday, and passed all five tests in 2000. While at TCAP, Michelle was identified as having a mathematics learning disability, so when she took the tests, she was allowed to have accommodations because of her disability, such as a calculator and a separate testing room. After achieving her GED, and with Wendy Heinz, her TCAP instructor, as her advocate, Michelle was awarded financial aid and started taking college classes at the age of 16. She didn’t know what she wanted to study, so she explored many different fields, such as psychology, environmental science, and computer classes. Michelle loved being a college student at Clackamas because she felt free of the cliquishness of high school and was treated as an adult here. After finishing her first term with straight As, she gained a wealth of confidence and said to herself, “Wow, I really am smart. I can do this!” In 2003, she earned an AAOT degree in psychology with honors and transferred to Portland State University. She plans to get a B.S. in psychology and then to continue on to graduate school for advanced degrees and a specialization in psychological research. Michelle eventually wants to be a college professor and to help students as did those people she cites who provided a support system for her: Wendy Heinz, Randy Thornton, Kristen Kristofferson, and Bill Briare.