DisPatches

Former DSPS Student Graduates Summa Cum Laude From Dominican College

Laurie Danels has come a long way from the streets, via Disabled Students Programs and Services at College of Marin. She is now the proud possessor of a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from Dominican College, graduating Summa Cum Laude, with national honors, school honors and department honors.

"I was a kid of the streets," said Danels two years ago as Class Speaker at her College of Marin graduation. "I was a depressed, suicidal girl who was aimlessly roaming around in the world. My experience at CoM transformed my life."

She was tested at DSPS, and discovered she had a learning disability. Working with learning specialists, she slowly but surely developed strategies and tactics around her disability.

It took six years for her to earn AA degrees in Liberal Arts and Behavioral Science, but only two more years to complete her Bachelor's program. She has now been accepted in graduate school at Dominican.

Danels' goal is to use art to work with abused kids. Part of her graduation requirement was to mentor two girls, an 8-year-old and a 13-year-old.   

"I only had to do it for a semester, but I've done it for a year, and I'll continue to," said Danels. "They had been homeless. They just need a little extra attention."

Danels knows how important that attention is, and she knows how to give it.

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