We’d like to formally introduce our Fall 2025 1st Place Scholarship Recipient, Camryn Honea. The Lisa Michelle Memorial Fund was established to assist and recognize students who have lost a parent, guardian, grandparent, sibling, and/or spouse to substance abuse. We are proud to award a $1,000 scholarship to assist Camryn this year. Camryn is majoring in Psychology at Metropolitan State University of Denver.
Q: Tell us a bit about yourself.
Hello! My name is Camryn Honea and I am a freshman at Metropolitan State University of Denver. I am currently a Psychology major but I am hoping to switch my major to Behavioral Neuroscience. I have a background in music as I used to play the trumpet throughout elementary school up until a few years ago and I was able to travel around the country to play music in different cities.
Q: Imagine yourself 10 years from now. What goals and ambitions do you have for yourself, personally, academically, and professionally?
10 years from now I hope to be living a life that consists of no chaos. I spent years of my life in a very chaotic household due to addiction and as time passes, the chaos has subsided and I hope it stays that way. I also see myself either working in a clinical setting, helping adolescents who may be dealing with addiction or abuse or I can also see myself doing a lot of research into how the brain transforms while dealing with trauma and addiction. I hope to be living the life I dreamed of when I was younger which consists of helping others and continuing to help myself. I hope to be able to connect with others who may be in the same career field that I am wanting to be a part of- learning from them professionally and personally.
Q: Aside from a college degree, what do you hope to gain from your college experience?
During my time in college I hope to meet new people. I want to be a part of something and create relationships with people that will last a lifetime. I want to be a part of a community and learn from my peers and not just my professors. I also want to learn how to build a community- not just join one. I hope to learn more about myself through my college journey. I feel like I am still trying to figure out who I am and who I want to be. I want to engage with diverse perspectives so that I can understand what my purpose is!
Q: What motivates you to continue working towards accomplishing your goals?
Reclaiming my power is something that motivates me to continue working towards accomplishing my goals. With the hardships that I faced growing up, I think a lot of people expected me to be the “problem child’. People expected me to fail and struggle and that type of thinking seeped into my own thinking. I want to be able to show people that just because you are dealt a bad hand, that does not mean that you have to suffer forever. My motivation is also helping me free myself from my past as well. I am no longer the girl I used to be and I will move mountains to be the person I needed when I was younger. I refuse to fall back into bad patterns and the thought of achieving my goals and dreams is something that truly keeps me going and keeps me alive.
Q: What advice would you give to other students who have been through circumstances similar to yours?
My advice to other students who may be dealing with similar circumstances that I went through is to keep going. Dealing with abuse and addiction is very scary and very uncertain, but the only way you can get out of it, is to go through it. It is also important to be gentle with yourself as well. You have to be kind to yourself and you have to advocate for yourself in order for things to change. Healing is possible and healing is a very beautiful thing and I really just urge others to ask for help when needed. You do not have to deal with everything alone. There are people out there who want to help you and who want to see you succeed and just because you meet a few bad people does not mean the whole world is like that. Please just keep going and celebrate yourself. Celebrate where you are at right now because with each passing day, you are making an effort to change. We can be sitting in answered prayers and not even realize it. Things do get better but it may take some time and I promise that when you move through everything and the fog gets cleared, you will be proud of making it out.
The Lisa Michelle Memorial Fund 