Laika
In the fall one
of our star students, Laika, will transfer from Shoreline Community
College to The Evergreen State College, where she will get her B.A. She
plans to continue on for a Master's in Teaching. Laika is a brilliant,
compassionate, responsible, and disciplined person and it has been a
tremendous privilege to know her and work with her. We congratulate her
on her achievement.
Laika grew up in a painful home environment in Eastern Washington. She began abusing drugs and alcohol at age 10. When she was 15, an overdose left her hospitalized in a coma. "When I woke up, the doctor asked me if I was ready for rehab. I was," she remembers. After completing her treatment program she chose to move into a YouthCare group home rather than return to her parents. "After that, they didn't want me back," she says. She enrolled in the CEO Program of Shoreline Community College, an excellent program that helps at-risk youth complete their GEDs and transition to college. At 17, she left YouthCare and has been supporting herself and living independently ever since. She is now 19 years old. She has been sober for four years.
SEA has been giving Laika scholarship support to supplement the income she receives from working at the Boys and Girls Club. Without this scholarship, she would not have been able to afford to work part time while going to school full time this past year. We will be continuing to provide scholarships and advocacy to Laika as long as she needs and wants them.
Laika's Evergreen application essay, printed in full below, explains her passion for learning and for teaching:
I want to go to Evergreen so I can get the best possible education, both because I love to learn and because I love to teach. When I see that light go on in someone else’s eyes, and I know that they understand, it is worth everything I’ve been through, just to be in that moment with them. My dream is to earn a Masters in Teaching and work with children.
My goals have always been ambitious, yet I have not had the support of my family to help me realize these goals. I have been homeless, but it never stopped me from continuing school. I take advantage of any chance to learn. I may not have had a mainstream education, but my training and commitment in other areas of learning has been extensive. I have been preparing for a higher level of education with every choice I make and every class and seminar. I put my best into everything that I do so that I will be able to succeed in my future studies, no matter where I am.
For the past two years, since the age of 16, I have been attending Shoreline Community College. I am enrolled in a program called Career Employment Opportunity (CEO), which gives high school drop-outs and GED recipients a chance at earning their Associates Degree. During my time at Shoreline, I have grown tremendously. No matter what, every day, I am on time for school and ready to learn.
Every day after learning about developmental practices, multi-cultural studies and anti-bias education in class, I go to work at the North Seattle Boys and Girls Club. Our Club serves mostly low income youth, ranging in age from five to eighteen. There I get the chance to directly apply my schooling. This has been just as educational as what I have learned in the classroom. Our Club is the most diverse Boys and Girls Club in Washington State. Many of our kids are immigrants from Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Egypt and Iraq. Others are Black Americans, Spanish speaking children, first generation Americans, Caucasians, and deaf children. Coupled with my schooling at Shoreline, my teaching role has helped me learn to smoothly move through cultural lines, understanding the needs and wants of children from many places in life. I have a rare and valuable skill that I would like to build upon.
Two summers ago I graduated from an Outward Bound Course. It was the most spiritual, enriching and educational event I have ever experienced in my life. I embarked on that journey a determined yet frightened young girl, and I came back a powerful and driven woman. That experience made me remember something that I will never forget: I can accomplish any goal that I have. My strengths are limitless.
I was born with a small flame hidden deep inside me. I have spent my whole life following what is says and protecting it from being blown out. The twenty-two days that I spent in the Mazama Backcountry with Outward Bound has turned that flame into a torch that I proudly carry with me wherever I go and whatever I do. I will not ever again have to worry about it going out. I carry this enthusiasm for life with me everywhere, especially into the classroom. I am a dedicated student. I feel as if I were born to learn, that my whole life should be dedicated to learning. My interests are numerous and grow as I do. The only thing that is solid is that I want to learn for the rest of my life, and pass everything that I know on to others.
Ever since I heard about Evergreen, it has been my goal to study there. Evergreen is the perfect fit for my life and educational experiences. Large teacher-student ratios and overworked teachers are something I will not accept in my education. Evergreen is the school that will live up to my standards and surpass my expectations. Being involved in a diverse, multicultural education is a requirement for my future career goals. Interdisciplinary classes are something I am looking forward to experience in my studies at Evergreen.
In conclusion, I know that if I am accepted to Evergreen, I will be an outstanding student and contribute to your community. Thank you for giving me this opportunity.
