Ten years of addiction had taken its toll and she couldn’t do it anymore. She had to change her lifestyle. She had to do it for her son, for her family, for herself. She was sure about this. What she didn’t realize at the time was the role Brazosport College would play in this change.
“I was in the hospital on all these machines and I just said that I can’t do this anymore,” Katrina said. “That was it. I didn’t want to die like that.”
Today, Katrina is nearly eight years clean and sober, and determined to never return to that lifestyle.
But things are far from easy for her. Since moving to Clute with her son a year ago, she has made ends meet by working hard in low-paying jobs. Although she doesn’t have a car, she takes advantage of the local bus system to get around the community.
This is where she first came in contact with Brazosport College.
“The bus has a stop at Brazosport College and I would always see this school,” Katrina said. “I’d think to myself about how I would like to go back to school. So I came in, got an application and held on to it. The next week I came back and talked to a counselor and, three months later, I started here.”
Katrina is now in her third semester at Brazosport College and is taking advantage of everything the College offers.
“One of the greatest things here is the student services,” she said. “They have bus passes, they have food — you can get soap, washing powder, Pampers, almost everything you need. If you need something, there’s always somebody that can help. All you have to do is ask.”
She’s also used the Student Success Center for tutoring services, as well as the financial aid office for assistance with tuition and books. She’s even used any extra financial aid funds to help with apartment rent.
Despite being a 43-year-old student, Katrina also isn’t too proud to ask for help from her peers, many of which are more than 20 years younger than her.
“The main obstacle on my way here was me,” Katrina said. “I came here, at my age, with a lot of younger kids and I knew nothing about the computers … I didn’t know how to copy and paste. But I turned those obstacles into positives by talking to some of the younger kids and letting them help me. I’ve learned a lot.
“Right now, I have a lot of friends who are (ages) 18 to 20,” she added with a laugh.
No doubt, Katrina’s three semesters at Brazosport College has been a lot of work. Almost all of her spare time is spent at the College, as she can usually be found studying in the library. Her son, who is 16 years old, even comes to the College occasionally to spend more time with his mom.
But she believes everything will pay off once she receives her hard-earned associate degree, which, if all goes according to plan, could come as soon as 2021.
“A degree would mean so much to me,” she said with a smile. “It would mean I could pay my rent and not be behind. This might sound crazy, but I want to be able to go into a store and buy something I don’t need. I want to know how that would feel.”
Katrina chose Brazosport College for the opportunity to make a fresh start and to get on track for a brighter future. When all is said and done, however, she believes that BC will mean much more to her than just a degree.
“We’re all subject to fall down, but you have to get back up and dust yourself off,” she said. “At first, I was a little scared to go back to school at my age, but I knew I could do it. Brazosport College has gone above and beyond my expectations. Most of the professors know my name and you can talk to them about anything.
“That’s what I love about it here and why I decided to stay,” she added. “This is a community college, but I think it’s more like a family.”
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