LCCC student named 2021 DREAM Scholar

Lorain County Community College student Nikita Johnson was named a 2021 DREAM Scholar by Achieving the Dream. Johnson is one of eight students in the country to be selected as a DREAM Scholar. Achieving the Dream is a national nonprofit geared toward higher education and community colleges. "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 in a news release. Achieving the Dream's DREAM Student Scholars are community college students who want to reach their goals and lift up their communities. As a DREAM Scholar, Johnson will participate in the virtual Achieving the Dream DREAM Conference, including participating in leadership courses and networking. LCCC is one of 300 community colleges in the national ATD network and one of 11 colleges to earn ATD's Leader College of Distinction status. 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 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.