Glen Oaks Community College gave Lauren Kane a passion for learning and a purpose for her life.
The opportunities it afforded her set the 2019 alumna on a pathway toward success she never would have envisioned graduating from Sturgis High School a decade earlier.
At the time, Kane headed to Western Michigan University for post-secondary studies, but her stay was short-lived.
It would be seven years before she set foot in a school again.
In Fall 2016, seeking to create a life for herself and her two young daughters, she enrolled at Glen Oaks and started night classes with her five-month-old in tow.
“I had everything to prove,” she said. “I really, really, really wanted to succeed.”
She made her schooling the most important thing in her life. It gave her a sense of purpose and an identity outside of being a mother – “it’s easy to get lost in that.” She connected with people who had goals and vision – things she had never imagined for herself
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“It was so different – I wanted more of it, so much more than anything I had ever wanted,” she said.
Campus honor society Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) recruited her based on her GPA.
“It felt good to be recognized,” she said. “I wanted to experience something positive for a change.” PTK advisor Ben Fries saw leadership potential in her, and recommended she become president of the campus chapter.
“When you’re told you’re capable, you rise to the occasion,” she said.
In addition to PTK, she joined the debate club, science club, and the Equity and Inclusion Committee. She volunteered for various projects, making community-focused friends in the process.
“Glen Oaks was a huge stepping stone for me,” she said. “I could have a life being in society and I could handle it. I was smart and people found me valuable.”
Upon her graduation in May 2019 with a degree in general studies, Kane set her sights on Albion College, which had offered $25,000 scholarships to students involved in PTK.
With encouragement from administrator Tammy Russell to take that next step, she moved to Albion and began earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. A year later when the pandemic struck and classes became remote, she returned to Sturgis and completed her undergraduate coursework from her living room.
Kane currently enjoys the flexibility of being a substitute teacher while awaiting the results of an application to Western Michigan University’s School of Social Work in pursuit of a Master’s Degree in Clinical Social Work.
“My life has come full circle,” she said.