By Chris Cunningham
Cailean Dakota MacColl, a former Lane Community College Honors Program student, graduated from South Eugene High School in 2011 without a dream.
But serving as her sister Amy's caregiver for a year following graduation inspired Dakota, who is 21, to enroll as a pre-med student at Lane in January 2013.
Dakota describes her earlier high school career in North Dakota as, "a hard one that included several personal losses," before the family moved to Eugene in 2009.
Following graduation from SEHS, Dakota moved to Saskatchewan, Canada, to care for Amy, who endured numerous surgeries to treat ulcerative colitis. Dakota shopped for groceries, prepared clinically prescribed meals, and administered medications.
And her dream of becoming a physician began to take shape.
"Caring for Amy gave me my path and my identity," says Dakota, a descendent of the Cree Native Canadian tribe. Unlike her parents, Dakota did not grow up in Northern Canada.
She chose LCC because she knew she needed to develop strong study habits and time management skills before embarking on a rigorous academic journey. "I owe my success as a student to LCC," says Dakota, who took general education requirements and Lane Honors Program classes in biology and writing.
"Dakota is motivated and dedicated and has a natural sense of curiosity that helps keep her focused and interested in learning," says Sarah Lushia, an Honors Program instructor who assigned and supervised Dakota's work in a writing class on Black American Rhetorics.
Dakota also engaged in the Honors Program Invitation to Inquiry and Capstone seminars from co-instructors Ce Rosenow and Katie Morrison-Graham. The intimate seminars allow time to pursue solo and group research projects and to craft reflective essays. At the conclusion of the Capstone seminar, students present their research findings at the Honors Spring Symposium.
Rosenow writes, "Dakota not only is an outstanding student with a strong work ethic and an impressive intellect. She is an exceptional person who really cares about others."
The Honors Program "gave me confidence," says Dakota, who transferred from LCC to the University of Oregon winter term 2015 with a 3.83 GPA—highly prepared to pursue her dream of becoming a physician.
Learn more about the Lane Honors Program online.
Published by Lane Community College Marketing and Public Relations July 2015.