We had our first graduate of The North Star Bridge Project this spring! We are so proud of her!!
Read her story on our website at: http://www.thenorthstarbridgeproject.org/FirstGraduateofNSBP.html
goDaddy is having issues at the moment, so here is the story:
This is her story (written by KR):
As a young adult, I knew I wanted to work in a respectable field like the medical field. I knew I wanted to work with people and make positive changes in their lives. In the fall of 1999 I decided I wanted to make a career move into Dental Hygiene, so I began by slowly chipping away at my pre-requisites. One of the requirements was to work as an assistant for a number of hours prior to applying to the dental hygiene program; I chose to employ myself at an orthodontist office. I very quickly learned that I was extremely good with patients and quickly established rapport with them; I knew this was the right route for me.
Well as we all know things don’t always pan out as we plan, I got side tracked by a handsome devil that is now my husband. Shortly after we got married we welcomed our first daughter into the world, then two and a half years later we welcomed our second daughter. My career and my academic future got put on hold, because children and money were a priority at that time. I continued to work at the office I had originally planned on staying at for only a short time, and I eventually worked my way up and became a leader for the office. One day I was sitting at my desk at work thinking how nice it would be to go back to school. I felt like I needed to grow, yet here I was working for someone else making them successful. What about the success of my family? That was it. I wanted to pursue dental hygiene again, for me and my family.
Now there I was thirty four and back in the saddle. I have to say that I believe things do happen for a reason. At the age of twenty six I don’t think I would have been able to handle the demands of the dental hygiene program. I believe that as a mother I have flourished in so many ways mentally and physically and I believe this is where I pulled my strength from and was able to start a new chapter in my life. I wanted to be able to provide the life my children, husband and I deserve. I sit and look at my children while they sleep and wonder what they will think of me when they get older. I just wanted to do something for them, so that they would be proud of me and know I do everything for them. My husband and I knew it would be difficult financially for me to attend school, being that I would not be able to work while immersing myself in my studies, but we figured financial aid would help me through my journey.
The first semester was quite difficult for me because it had been such a long time since I had to study for exams, so quite frankly I had forgotten how to do so. I don’t give up easy, I found myself going to Mesa Community College Red Mountain Campus early in the morning to read, write notes and study. Class started around 1pm, followed by clinic from 5:00-9:00pm, this was Monday – Friday for the first semester. It made for a very long day and semester. The second semester was just as grueling, minus Friday.
By the time summer had come our finances were already in shambles, but we knew that we couldn't’t turn back now. Since I had pretty much been Missing In Action, breathing, sleeping, eating dental hygiene my husband and I thought it was best that I stay home with our girls during my short summer break and attempt to play catch-up. It was a short break, in July we started our local anesthesia course and shortly after that I delved right back into our second year as seniors. Things were so tight financially and the financial aid got even slimmer. I started to worry so much about how we were going to provide for the girls that I started to become ill. My body was so worn down from the stress that I was constantly coming down with colds, and the flu, you name it I came down with it. Worst of all my grades started to dwindle and I felt like I was drowning in a sea of overwhelming doubt. I started having nightmares, panic attacks and had to be medicated. You see, the dental hygiene program requires that you continue to maintain a 77% on all your academics. If you fail to do so you are dropped from the program; just to give you an idea how tough it was a 92% is a B. All I could think about was our financial situation. I started feeling guilty for leaving my job, I felt like I had caused this by going back to school. I honestly felt like dropping out of school was my only option to help the family survive. All I ever wanted was for my children to grow up in a home where education in valued, and for them to grow up seeing their mother as a strong female role model.
I just didn't know what to do anymore so I scheduled a meeting with one on my instructors and informed her of my situation. She had learned of this foundation that was for situations like this. The foundation was the North Star Bridge Foundation. I called the number given to me and was promptly reached by Sue Glascoe, and shortly after that our lives took a turn for the better. Sue and Lee Glascoe are warm, caring individuals who value education. I believe they are angles who took us under their wings; they mentored us, cared for us and loved us like family. Without them and their innovative idea I don’t know what our outcome may have panned out to be. They helped create this wonderful outreach for families who are in dire need of financial help, and enable them to grow to their full potential. The help which we received from the foundation allowed me to focus on school.
With in a few weeks I was able to turn my grades around, I went from almost failing out of the program to finishing strong with three A’s and three B’s. I went on to graduate the Dental Hygiene Program with honors. The foundation assisted our finances by paying for three of our monthly utilities, my dental hygiene national board, dental hygiene clinical board, local anesthesia written board, and local anesthesia clinical board. By taking the pressure of finances off of my shoulders, I felt like I could breathe and concentrate on what I had set out to accomplish. I applied for my dental hygiene license, and am proud to say that I am now a Registered Dental Hygienist. I hope in the future I have the ability to donate to the foundation so that I may allow someone to reach their dream.
Thank you for all of your support! Our first year has been amazing!!
Sue Glascoe
President and co-Founder
North Star Bridge Project
