From Drug Addiction to Graduation

VIDEO – BEAUTIFUL VISION –

Oct. 25, 2023 – The high school dropout earned her GED and enrolled at Honolulu Community College.
“I had a lot of catching up to do and a big hole to climb out of,” she said.

McComas did more than go to class and pass her exams.

She became the president of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, a student advocate for the Collegiate Recovery Leadership Academy, and an award and scholarship recipient.

She immersed herself in her studies.

“I know that the way to able to make choices and to be able to have an option on what I do with my life would require an education,” she said.

“I would go there and get dirty in the loi. All in, hands in, dirty, up to your waist in water. It’s good for the soul,” she said.

Through an internship at the John A. Burns School of Medicine, McComas assisted in cardiovascular research and discovered a passion for science. This past May, the 38-year-old single mom earned her associate’s degree from Honolulu Community College.

“I’m just trying to do what’s in front of me,” she said. “I’m honored that other people are able to find strength in my story.”