Gaining Momentum
By: Sheen H
I started my quest for higher education back in 2010 when I aged out of Rhyther Child Center. I lived at shelters such as ROOTS, Orion Center, and the YMCA. There were always different people from community organizations around and sometimes they would be cool enough to talk to. I was told to visit a small office called Seattle Education Access (SEA) that could help young adults with understanding the college process. I met with Polly, the executive director at the time, and she helped me understand what college was for and assigned me an advocate who helped make school go more smoothly. All I knew was I wanted to go to college like all the other people my age.
At the time, I was a homeless foster youth and nothing in my life was stable. My mom is mentally and physically disabled, and my dad was always in prison. The relatives I knew of had no college experience or ever talked to me about higher education. I worked with two different people that helped me get into Seattle Central. Even though I was a part of the disability office there, the office was not helpful and I soon got lost and gave up.
In 2018, I met Cooper, an education advocate at SEA, now Northwest Education Access (NW Education Access). She is this hip chill lady who helped me apply for a scholarship to go back to school, taught me about FAFSA, and researched other avenues of education for me. She also helped me get into Seattle Central again and North Seattle College, although their traditional education system didn't work out for me. I ended up joining a non-profit film school. I used to meet Cooper at the library and drop-in centers. She helped me apply for a scholarship that covered software that I needed for film school, so I could work on projects from home rather than weird hours with more commute.
Cooper worked hard with me to find opportunities with other young people striving for higher education. She guided and pushed me to do better, all while not giving up on me, unlike most of the other systems I've been forced through as a youth. NW Education Access has found opportunities for me to connect with other students and be acknowledged as young adults trying to elevate their lives with a better education for a better financial situation. With Cooper’s support, I have attended Microsoft interview panels and group discussions about educational gaps that others might not be aware of.
I have not been afforded the luxury of having a college savings. I come from a family that never made it past Junior High, let alone college. On top of this, I attended 14 different schools from the 1st through 12th grade that I did not fit into well. Summer school was never enough to help, which I did every summer in high school. I had to move a lot and nothing was something I could count on. I now see I kept falling through the cracks of a broken system that pushes people through until they are adults left on their own.
I was born with ADHD, a learning disability called dyscalculia, and a sensory processing disorder that makes it difficult for me to work in a disorganized environment without reasonable accommodations.
When I was younger, I was in special ed for many years because of my issues that even today I do not fully understand what makes some things very easy and others very hard. Due to a neurodivergent brain, I have found myself dropping out of college after the first quarter or month. This is not only about understanding where to go for classes or following the work, but even simple things like finding where to get my ID card or who to talk to about what. I learn differently, and to succeed I need support constantly. I don’t always know what I need even when there is a problem, but with an advocate on my side, like NW Education Access, I am less likely to give up now. I have dropped out of five community colleges since graduating high school and have made it through three technical programs, but I have yet to get a degree.
My dream college is currently Landmark College on the east coast. They focus on working with people that learn differently, rather than trying to push them into a standard system that most other colleges use. Currently, I am really excited that Bellevue College now offers an alternative learning program called Neurodiversity Navigators. As of last year, they were recognized as the best college in the U.S. for students with neurological differences. My plan is to attend this program for three years and transfer to Landmark for my fourth and final year. I finally feel confident enough knowing that this experience will not be like my last college attempts. I'm so lucky and grateful to have NW Education Access nurture and help me grow through my ups and downs while finding something that works for me.
Someday, I will stand up at a podium and accept my degree. I will turn around and be able to provide support to people like me.
I am really proud of seeing SEA grow into Northwest Education Access and the staff that has been sweet and thoughtful throughout the years inviting me back to events and checking in on me. That means a lot when I lose courage and momentum because of discouraging situations blocking me from my dream of getting a BA and making a livable wage.