Kristin Lobos Found Self-Confidence at CCC

Kristin Lobos didn’t come to CCC for an associate degree.

Inspired by her daughter’s struggle, Kristin had planned on earning a certificate in addiction treatment. “I had been through this experience with my daughter,” Kristin explains, “and I wanted to help other families. I did some research on where would be a good place to go online… and I was like, Wow, it’s right here.”

At first, Kristin wasn’t even sure she’d fit in. She had never been to college.

“I was pretty scared,” she remembers. “I didn’t know what it would be like.”

“It was something I’d had resistance to doing in the past, so that was my big question: Are there other people like me there?”

But, Kristin found that she fit right into the Health and Human Services department.

“I loved it so much, I just kept staying and staying,” Kristin remembers. Kristin earned certificates in Dual Diagnosis Screening, Psychosocial Rehabilitation, and Substance Abuse Case Management.

“I went from part-time to full-time, and then I decided I would try to tackle math and get my A.A.,” she recalls. “I started realizing I wanted to become a counselor myself.”

Today, Kristin is Vice President of the Health and Human Services Club, an intern at Ujima Family Recovery Services, and a United Faculty intern.

Kristin says that CCC helped her to realize her own self-worth.

“I’ve appreciated all the help that I’ve gotten,” she explains, “‘Cause, you know, here’s the thing: I had a lot of stress. Like, even before I came here, with my daughter and being a single mom and everything. I needed to figure out a way to live my life.”

“It’s a gift to understand that we should feel worthy, like we do when we raise our hands to ask a question, or for help from our professors and others. It’s okay to say that you need support and help, and that you’re struggling.”

But the support that Kristin found at CCC isn’t just personal. Last year, she received the Mary Vivian Gardner Due Diligence Scholarship and the Health and Human Service Department Scholarship. She’s keeping her transfer options open, but says that, for now, she’s totally focused on earning her associate degree and getting right to work.