Student speaker to class of 2010: Find your voice
News Editor
MORE STORIES OF INSPIRATION
Finalists for ‘student speaker’ share their messages
MICHELE THOMAS
Anyone who has stepped into the admissions office at WCC during the last seven years and met admissions recruiter Michele Thomas, probably spent the rest of the day smiling. Known for calling people “honey” and “sweetie,” Thomas has the reputation for brightening the days of almost everyone she meets. Which is incredible, considering what she has recently endured. After undergoing intense chemotherapy for almost five months for ovarian cancer, her marriage of 25 years ended last September. The cherry on top was finding out she also had chronic lymphocytic leukemia, a type of blood and bone marrow cancer. But you’d never guess it. Thomas, 53, loves her life, and shares that joy with everyone she can. “Some friends of mine ask me, ‘How can you be so happy?’” she said, “And I always say, ‘Well what else can I do?’ There’s nothing else I can do. It’s not going to help me, or help anybody else being all mopey and sad about it… You know what? It’s a life lesson.” And that optimism shines through in every aspect of her character, from her life at work, while attending classes, with her family, to the time she has alone in the early morning. Because Thomas is, of course, a morning person, waking up happily around 4:30 a.m. every morning. A few hours later, Thomas is on campus, hugging her co-workers and making their mornings just a little more pleasant. It’s difficult to not be perky when she spends every day in the place that gave her such an incredible opportunity. Thomas began taking classes sporadically in the late ’90s, but took her time in order to avoid any student loans. “I fell in love with it here,” she said, remembering her first semester at WCC. “The students are amazing, and the teachers, the staff, everybody was so friendly and helpful. I just felt such ease coming here.” Thomas will graduate with an associate’s degree in liberal arts and plans to transfer to a four-year university soon, hopefully into an accelerated program.
DIANNE CHAMPION
Twelve years ago Diane Champion lay in a hospital bed in Southern California, unable to walk or talk. She had suffered a severe brain hemorrhage and wasn’t expected to live much longer. Her husband had brought her to the hospital after she complained of a terrible headache for four days. The hospital performed an emergency CAT scan. “They said to get my parents there right away,” she recalls. “The next thing I know, I heard my dad’s voice, I remembered what the doctor was saying. By a miracle, my brain healed itself.” Seven years later Champion, her husband, and their son, Eric, moved to Ypsilanti Township. Eric is now 9-years-old, in the third grade and more than proud of his mother. “My grade card is right next to his on the fridge,” Champion said. “I’ve maintained a 4.0 GPA being a mother, a wife and a student.” Some would call that a miracle, all things considered. “I had to relearn how to walk and talk,” she said of her recovery process. “I had a lot of short term memory loss for a long time. I would park my car at the mall and couldn’t remember where it was… Now I’ve moved on, I’ve closed that chapter of my book and I’ve moved on, studying and memorizing things.” On graduation day, Eric will be there in the crowd with his dad and grandparents to cheer on his mother. He even had his dad order a special T-shirt that says, “My mom is graduating today with a 4.0 GPA… way to go, Mom!” And Champion doesn’t plan on stopping her education any time soon. She will begin an accelerated program at Davenport University in the Fall of 2011 in business management. “I am so up for the challenge.”
STEPHAN MONTGOMERY
In 1996, Stephan Montgomery lost a son. He had an asthma attack at 17, and despite a promising future, the boy was taken from his friends and family. “This is in memory of him,” Montgomery said. “Because he couldn’t get his degree, I’ll get it for him.” In 2008, Montgomery found his niche. After spending 14 years as a police officer in Detroit, Montgomery left it all behind, moving to Ann Arbor to attend WCC. He enrolled in Maxine Gibson’s English 091 course, among other classes, and was surprised at how easily writing came to him. Gibson inspired Montgomery throughout his time at WCC, including her recommendation that he tutor in The Writing Center, an opportunity that ultimately led the new student to find his passion. “I guess I had a talent that she recognized, that I didn’t recognize, so I changed my major to elementary education,” he explains. “That experience, dealing with students one on one… and the expression when they would come back later and say because of my help they got a good grade on a paper. That gave me little goose bumps.” Montgomery went on to have an essay published in the very textbook he used in that first English course. He is now enrolled at Eastern Michigan University, and will begin taking courses in June, majoring in technology and design education with a minor in literature, reading and writing education. But he thanks WCC for giving him the first stepping stones in this new venture. “I guess if I had to give a message to anyone it would be whatever your dream is, go for it,” he said. “Don’t let others get in the way. Don’t let yourself get in the way. Don’t have self-doubt, because I’ve had self-doubt here a couple of times. “And surround yourself with people that share your dream. If you do that you’re going to get wherever you want to go.”
STEPHANIE LONCHAR
Stephanie Lonchar graduated from Stockbridge High School in 2005, and quickly ran for warmer weather. She moved to Key West, Fla., and attended a community college for a year before deciding to move back home. She enrolled at WCC in the Fall of 2007, and hasn’t regretted a day since. “From the professors and the different people on campus, everyone is so open and it’s been so much fun. It kind of feels like home,” she said of WCC. Lonchar completely submerged herself in activities at the college during her time taking classes. She was a part of the Anime Club and Gamer’s Club, but her true passion fell on broadcasting. She became the president of Orchard Radio in the Winter 2009 semester, and has been involved with the student radio station for almost three years. Lonchar also became involved with the Student Development and Activities office, assisting Rachel Barsch, the events coordinator. “It’s been a whole new experience working there, getting to know more faculty, students and staff,” she said. Now the newlywed, married March 5, plans to move to San Diego with her husband, Joe, in July and hopefully continue her work, but with a new type of audience. “I don’t have a dream job, but I want to do communications at the San Diego Zoo,” she said. “I think that would be a lot of fun.”
