My name is Bruce Kraeger. I am 30 years old and grew up on a dairy farm in Constableville, New York. I hope by sharing a little bit of my journey to MVCC that anyone uncertain about their ability to be successful at college might be just a little inspired or reassured that it is more than possible. I contemplated going to college for most of my twenties but struggled with alcoholism and drug addiction for the better part of the last 15 years. I was interested in studying to be a chemical dependency counselor as well as taking some criminal justice classes. I lacked the self-worth and the self-confidence to even give it a try. I was also interested in the field of Emergency Medical Services. I have been helped a whole lot by folks serving in all of these fields, and I was desperate to give back. I wanted to be a part of the solution rather than the problem but wasn’t able take the leap until love broke though and I became willing to help myself first.

In May of 2020, I was given a fresh start after going through a very rough period of what felt like complete hopelessness. After hitting a hard bottom in my addiction and being given another chance at life, I decided shortly after I was going to start taking care of myself. This meant making some very difficult decisions and sacrifices including time with my four beautiful children, but I knew that if I didn’t put my own well-being and my own aspirations first, I wasn’t going to be very helpful to anyone else. I had to make this investment that would benefit all both my children and me in the long run. After becoming grounded in my recovery through self-help programs, I signed up for the fall semester at MVCC as well as an EMT-Basic course at Lewis County Search and Rescue. I didn’t have anything I needed for school and found myself pretty stressed out as the semester approached.

Before classes started, I was connected with the C3 program where I met Michelle. She connected me with the OnPoint program which provided me with a free laptop, school supplies, and ongoing development opportunities. Michelle took me for a tour around the school and patiently made sure all of my needs were met so that I could focus on my studies. I was loaned a mobile hotspot so that I didn’t have to worry about internet access for my classes. When I became homeless in the middle of the semester, I think it is safe to say I became her top priority that day. She made phone calls and sent me emails all day long making sure I had a safe place to stay. She caught me in the learning center one day and loaded up bags of food for me to take. Trying to take on the stress of maintaining some of the fundamentals alone in the semester would have made it very difficult to have seen it through. All I had to do was take the leap and everything else fell into place.

Today, I am a licensed EMT-B volunteering on the ambulance at Search and Rescue as I continue my studies. I’m heading into the spring semester with a confidence I never had before. Despite different challenges and hurdles, I finished the fall semester with a 3.69 GPA much thanks to C3, Michelle, my advisor, Robin, and all of my professors who were wonderful, caring and encouraging as well. I would like to especially that Professor Cretaro who held me back after many of classes to check in on me and push me to keep writing, which meant a lot. I was blessed to be accepted into the Honors Program this spring, and I am well on my way to helping others in the chemical dependency field. Thank you MVCC so much for having my back and helping to bring the best out in me. To those who aren’t sure if they can do it, be good to yourself, believe in yourself, and take the leap!