Student Testimonial - SUDP Student, Kimberly Roberts

My journey to college has not been a straight path. There have been times when simply finding stability and safety was my priority. I have experienced homelessness and the uncertainty that comes with not knowing where you will sleep or what tomorrow will bring. I have experienced domestic violence and relationships that affected my sense of safety and well-being. I have also had difficult experiences with CPS and the judicial system. Those experiences were painful, and there were times when I felt overwhelmed by circumstances that seemed bigger than me.

I have also had to take responsibility for my own choices and the consequences of my past. Recovery has required me to be honest with myself about where I have been, what I have done, and what I needed to change. I have learned that accountability does not mean allowing my past to define me. It means acknowledging it, learning from it, and making different choices moving forward.

One of the most important changes in my life has been maintaining my recovery while continuing my education. Going to school while navigating personal challenges has not always been easy. There have been days when I have had to manage the responsibilities of being a college student while also dealing with emotionally and personally difficult situations. I have had to learn how to ask for help, use my support system, manage stress, maintain healthy boundaries, and keep showing up even when life is not going the way I wanted.

Recently, I faced another difficult challenge when someone I care deeply for relapsed. I had to recognize that I could not control another person's recovery or choices. I could only control my own decisions and how I responded. After a great deal of reflection, I made the difficult decision to leave the relationship to protect my recovery, safety, and future.

That decision was painful, but it showed me how much I had changed. In the past, I might have sacrificed my own stability trying to save someone else. Through my own recovery and education, I have learned that I can have compassion for someone who is struggling without taking responsibility for their choices. I can care about someone and still establish boundaries. I can support someone without abandoning myself. That realization is one of the reasons my education has become so meaningful to me.

Studying Substance Use Disorders at Lower Columbia College has allowed me to take experiences that once felt like obstacles and turn them into understanding and purpose. I am learning about addiction professionally while also understanding some of its impact personally. I have seen how substance use can affect relationships, families, children, housing, employment, safety, and a person's sense of hope. My experiences have given me one perspective, while my education is teaching me how to use that perspective responsibly and ethically.

College has also given me something I did not always have before: a clear direction for my future. I am working toward becoming a Substance Use Disorder Professional because I want to help people understand that their current circumstances do not have to determine where their lives end. I know what it feels like to be defined by past choices, difficult circumstances, or systems that are focused on what has already happened. I also know what it feels like to work toward becoming something different.

My goal is not to erase my past. My goal is to learn from it. The challenges I have experienced have taught me resilience, but college has helped me turn that resilience into purpose. My education has taught me that recovery involves more than stopping substance use. It involves developing healthy relationships, learning boundaries, taking accountability, building stability, asking for support, and believing that change is possible.

I have also learned that asking for help is not a weakness. It is part of how I have gotten here. There were times when I tried to handle everything alone, but my recovery has taught me the importance of community and support. I have learned to reach out to people I trust and to allow others to walk alongside me, rather than believing I have to carry everything myself.

My story is one of many different paths that students take to college. I did not arrive here without challenges, and I did not arrive here with everything figured out. I arrived with a history, responsibilities, fears, strengths, and goals. What made a difference was having opportunities to learn, people willing to support me, and an environment where I could continue working toward something better. Lower Columbia College has become part of that journey.

My education is helping me build a future that once felt out of reach. Every class I complete represents more than a grade or a credit. It represents another step away from simply surviving and another step toward the life and career I want.

I want to take what I have learned from homelessness, domestic violence, addiction, recovery, CPS, the judicial system, and my own mistakes and use those experiences to help others. I want to provide support that is compassionate but also encourages accountability. I want the people I work with to know that they are more than their worst decision or their most difficult chapter.

My story has taught me that transformation does not happen all at once. It happens through small decisions made repeatedly: choosing recovery, asking for help, setting a boundary, going to class, completing an assignment, showing up when life is difficult, and believing that the future can be different from the past.

I am still learning. I am still growing. I am still building my future. But I am no longer simply trying to survive. I am pursuing an education. I am maintaining my recovery. I am preparing for a career. I am creating stability. And I am becoming the person I once needed to believe was possible.

Every student brings a unique journey to college. Mine has been complicated, but it has also given me resilience, empathy, accountability, and purpose. I hope that my story reminds others that where you begin does not have to determine where you finish. With support, opportunity, education, and a willingness to keep moving forward, transformation is possible.