David S.

“I came from a broken home. One could say that it was broken into so many pieces that all the king’s horses and all the king’s men could not put my home back together again.” Thus does David describe his childhood. Due to the turmoil in his early home, Dave “immediately went to drugs and alcohol at an early age.” Though he never finished high school, Dave did earn his G.E.D. in 1979, which was followed by a career in the U.S. Navy. Due to his escalating substance abuse problem, Dave was discharged shortly after enlisting.

Dave’s drug and alcohol problems eventually led to a conviction of drug trafficking and a six year prison sentence. After serving one year, Dave was released, and soon became addicted to heroin and cocaine. As Dave says, “I was on the brink of death.” It was then that Dave entered a 28 day rehabilitation program. He stayed 46 days, and then was sent to a six-month residential treatment program for alcoholics and addicts.

At that point Dave met Rebecca Robinson from the Maine Educational Opportunity Center (MEOC) and began to think about college. As Dave recalls, “While learning how to live life on a daily basis, I was introduced to Rebecca Robinson and MEOC. I was nervous and would never had attempted to go to college if it was not for the guidance I received from Rebecca. I truly believe that if were not for Rebecca I would never have thought it possible to go to college.”

Dave was accepted at Eastern Maine Technical College in their Culinary Arts program. He went on to earn a 3.913 GPA, gain admission to Phi Theta Kappa, and return to work at the first rehab he went through as a cook. Dave will graduate from EMTC in May of 2001, and plans to attend Husson College and earn a Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management. As Dave says, “I owe a great deal to MEOC and especially to Rebecca and her kind and uplifting spirit. I now know that the sky is the limit.”