Stories from the Class of 2023: 'Where there's life, there's hope'

Kim Nelson, a survivor of addiction and sex trafficking, found hope at FLCC, earning her diploma with a 3.74 GPA.

Kim Nelson was headed home to Naples one day in 2019 when she looked toward the FLCC main campus and noticed something about the sunlight there.

“I was driving down the road, and God said this is where I want you to be.”

She stopped, walked into the One Stop Center and started asking questions. Sara Carey helped her fill out the application and the financial aid forms.

It was spur of the moment but a long time coming. Kim chose chemical dependency counseling as her course of study. She had struggled with addiction for about 40 years following a life marred by sex trafficking and a suicide attempt. At age 61 and clean for a decade, she wanted to help others find a path out of misery.

“When you save one addict, you don’t just save one, you save the whole family,” she said.

Kim walked across the stage at Constellation Brands Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center on May 20 to get her diploma, finishing with a 3.74 GPA. This fall, she’ll enter the Keuka College bachelor’s degree program in social work much more prepared than she was for her associate degree work.

“I didn’t even know how to turn on a computer when I started. It’s amazing the things I’ve learned from this college,” she said.

Kim immersed herself in her coursework and took advantage of all the services FLCC has to offer, spending entire days on campus. When she wasn’t in class, she’d be in the writing center or the Incubator, a science tutoring center, or getting assistance from the IT Helpdesk. Nick Aiezza, professional tutor in the Write Place, says her skills grew “by leaps and bounds.”

She spent time in the Math Center, working with coordinator Marilyn Grzenda. “I could never have done so well in math without her patience and understanding that math 50 years ago was not the college level it is today,” Kim said.

“My overall experience is that FLCC made me feel so loved. The people are totally amazing. They didn’t frown on me or make me feel ashamed,” she added. Her advisor, Professor Mary Murphy, “gave me so much courage and inspired me so much.”

Kim had bad days, she said, but staff, including Melissa Soules, the disability services coordinator, encourage her to keep going.

Now Kim offers the same encouragement to others. “Where there’s life, there’s hope. Even though you’ve been through a rough life and had bad things happen to you, you don’t have to remain a victim. You can be a survivor.”