Advocate The Independent Student Voice of Mt. Hood Community College
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www.advocate-online.net September, 27 2013
Volume 49 Issue 2
HVAC replacement could put MHCC out in the
cold
Turn to page 6 to find out if you will need to bundle up Photo illustration by Carole Riggs - The Advocate
Profile of the month: Rho Theta leader turns past into speaking inspiration Recognizing deserving students at the recommendation of MHCC staff by Danny perez-crouse The Advocate
Could you shadow your mother’s schizophrenia, depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder – and somehow survive, then thrive in college? Julie Donaldson, Mt. Hood student and officer for Rho Theta (the international honor society of twoyear colleges), has overcome stiff challenges to get where she is now. Donaldson has earned the good grades required to qualify for Rho Theta. “I think I have OCD about get-
ting straight As, because I cannot let myself have a B... It’s something I’ve wanted to do since high school, being in an honors society,” she said. It’s been a long, difficult journey to her current success. Donaldson says she is sociable now, but back in sixth grade, she was very shy. “I never talked and I used to have so much anxiety,” she said. During high school, she said she had “migraines every day” and missed around 40 days of school a year. Despite missing time, she stayed motivated and graduated with a 3.67 grade point average. “I loved high school and I really wanted to do well
academically,” she said. Life got a little harder when her mother faced serious issues, Donaldson said. “At first, my mom was diagnosed with clinical depression, and then it was later found to be schizophrenia.” Things worsened, and Donaldson’s life was simply uprooted by her mother’s needs, she said: “No more school and no more work. My hopes and dreams just kind of fell through.” Her mother got worse, developing intense post-traumatic stress and OCD. Donaldson said her mother couldn’t cook anymore and the two had to remove everything from the house that hinted at their past. “It was all about control,” a major part of her mother’s issues, she said.
Donaldson began to adopt her mother’s habits. She started doing everything with her mother, and did what she did because it made her mother feel better. For instance, “if she didn’t eat, I didn’t eat,” she said. Her mother gained a fear of food, and could only drink down milk. Donaldson said the two lived off milk, only, for about six months. Before long, “I was about 68 pounds and my mom was about 70 pounds,” as they suffered malnourishment, she said. More than anything, she remembers being cold. The pair would travel to the local grocery store every day. “Our pastime would be watching what other
student
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Julie Donaldson
2013 FirsT plAce
General excellence Oregon Newspaper Publisher Association
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