North Ridgeville Review The Community That Cares
One of Only Eight Students in the Country to Receive the Award
Lorain County Community College student Nikita Johnson has been named a 2021 DREAM Scholar by Achieving the Dream (ATD) – the nation’s most comprehensive organization in advancing student success and equity. Johnson is one of just eight students in the country to be selected as a DREAM Scholar.
“I am still in shock that I am receiving this award. I am excited at the opportunity to continue my journey with the support of LCCC and the DREAM Scholar program,” Johnson said.
Achieving the Dream’s DREAM Student Scholars are resilient community college students, determined to reach their goals and lift up their communities. As a DREAM Scholar, Johnson will participate in the virtual ATD DREAM Conference, including participating in leadership courses and networking.
“The Lorain County Community College family is so proud of Nikita. She’s demonstrated amazing resilience in her life and in reaching her goals. She continues to amaze us with her authentic passion to make a positive impact on her community,” said LCCC President Marcia J. Ballinger, Ph.D. “Being named a DREAM Scholar is a fitting title, as Nikita is making her dreams come true, and is inspiring others to achieve their dreams, as well.”
LCCC is one of 300 community colleges in the national ATD network and one of only 11 colleges to earn ATD’s Leader College of Distinction status. In 2020, LCCC was named the Leah Meyer Austin winner, ATD’s top prize reserved for network colleges that show greatest, sustained improvements in student outcomes and student success. Through working with ATD, LCCC has made great strides in narrowing equity gaps for students in underserved populations, such as Johnson.
In May, Johnson, 30, will be the first person in her family to earn a college degree when she graduates with an associate of arts degree from LCCC. She’ll continue on through LCCC’s University Partnership in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree in social work through Youngstown State University.
A single mother from Lorain, Johnson said she hopes earning her associate degree and bachelor’s degree will lay a new path for herself and her four children. Her goal is to break the generational cycle of poverty that has played a pivotal role in her life. She hopes her future career in social work will help others, too.
“Growing up in poverty, social workers a lot of times have a negative meaning associated with them. I’d like to change that. I want to show children and others the positive side of being a social worker,” she said.
As a child growing up in Cleveland, Johnson lived with the harsh realities of poverty, crime and violence. That environment took a heavy toll on young Johnson.
“I dropped out of school in the eighth grade. I became a teen mom when I was 15. Life was hard. I felt trapped in a life I did not choose,” she recalled.
Still, she was determined to make a better life for her new family. She worked a variety of jobs, including various positions in fast food and nursing homes, but landing those jobs was a struggle. In 2014, she decided it was time to put those thoughts into action. She took a leap of faith and signed up for the GED. She failed the math section, but passed the other parts of the test. She never gave up. By 2017, she passed the math part of the test and earned her GED.
The achievement moment was a huge step forward and the confidence boost that Johnson needed to keep moving forward. As a GED graduate, Johnson earned a $500 scholarship to continue her education at Lorain County Community College.
Once at LCCC, she was invited to share her story with LCCC’s Equity Team, a group of faculty, staff and students who actively work to ensure LCCC’s commitment to equity is achieved through improving success for students from marginalized and underrepresented populations.
Johnson knew her life was changed from the first meeting. From that day forward, the Equity Team became her support system.
“It seems like every time I am at my breaking point I receive a text from the Equity Team giving me words of encouragement to keep moving forward,” Johnson said.
She’s helping others find that support, too.
“Whenever I hear someone in class say they’re struggling, I let them know about the resources at LCCC, and that people genuinely want to help them. LCCC truly cares about each student and treats you like family,” Johnson said.
