Real Vermonters. Real Stories.

It was a Community College of Vermont class assignment that showed Wayne his path toward recovery. Now the program director at an addiction recovery center, Wayne’s own relationship to addiction began as a teenager. He dropped out of high school, later earning his GED and enrolling in community college. While at CCV, Wayne attended a 12-step meeting to fulfill a class requirement. Wayne regards that meeting, and the messages he received there, as the seeds that developed into his recovery.

Wayne completed an associate’s degree in human services and addiction, continued on to earn his bachelor’s degree, and now aims for two more credentials: a master’s degree and his licensure as an addiction counselor. What’s more, he’s inspired both his parents and his fiancé to attend college.

Diane’s mother desperately wanted her daughter to attend college. And she did – 35 years later. When Diane graduated high school, her educational options had been limited: study to become a nurse, a teacher, a secretary, or a wife. Diane took a different route. She spent 27 years running a farm with her husband and raising their kids. She spent the next eight years working as a machinist in a factory. It was then that Diane made a courageous decision: to go to massage school.

Diane said she realized she had been practicing alternative medicine all her life and decided to formally make a career switch. Diane now runs her own reflexology practice and is currently pursuing a professional studies degree. A self-designed program, she has decided to focus on wellness and alternative medicine to best help her patients. She manages to balance her practice with her schooling by taking online and intensive, seven-week long courses. It’s never too late to chase your dreams.

• 35 Years between high school and college
• 27Years running a farm
• 1 Reflexology practice

His films may one day come to a theater near you. But getting where he is has not come without twists and turns. Jeremy was incarcerated when he discovered his passion and talent for screenwriting. With the help of a VSAC counselor, Jeremy utilized non-degree grants to take a college course while incarcerated. Upon his release, he continued his studies first at Burlington College and then at Champlain College while on an affordable, semester-long exchange program.

When the deal ran out, Jeremy was lucky enough to meet with the President of Champlain College and secure a scholarship to finish his degree at the institution. Jeremy graduated from his program and finished his first film – which gained the attention and support of Julie Pacino, move-producing-daughter of Al Pacino. With a film under his belt, Jeremy was accepted to the University of Southern California where he is now a George Lucas Scholarship. Jeremy is clear that the path to success is not linear.

• 4 Educational institutions
• 1Feature-length film

For Amy, her college career started as an adult with a photography class she never took. Amy worked as a high school secretary for 20 years. Severe dyslexia made her own time in high school difficult, thus setting her on a vocational track. She took advantage of countless professional training opportunities over the course of those 20 years, but never thought of herself as a potential college student. That is, until she built up the courage to attend a Community College of Vermont open house. Her plan was to take a photography course.

Plans, though, do not always unfold as we expect. Amy learned of the Assessment of Prior Learning program, which would allow her to earn credit for things she already knew. Amy took the course and earned 62 college credits. She used this incredible jumpstart to launch her into her college journey, eventually graduating with a bachelor’s degree. Upon graduation, Amy transferred her knowledge and experience to help students first as an employee of CCV and then VSAC. Amy leads by example, spending her days showing students that college is in fact within their reach.

• 62 Prior Learning Assessment credits
• 20Years as a high school secretary
• 1 New career