College felt a world away – until Nikki McSweeney found Future Connect
Posted by PCC Foundation
PCC alum and engineering student Nikki McSweeney shares how Future Connect coaching, scholarships, and community helped her find belonging at PCC:
For weeks, I caught myself thinking the same thing every time I walked across the Southeast Campus: I’m a student here.
It sounds simple, but after dropping out of school twice before I turned 13, those four words felt almost impossible to believe.
I was bullied a lot when I was in third grade. Then my family lost our housing and I left school. I tried to go back in seventh grade, but when my dad was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, I left again.
At 18, I was working toward my GED at Portland YouthBuilders, but college still felt like a world away. That’s when Jana Daugherty from PCC visited my classroom to tell us about Future Connect.
I’d always thought that college was a place where you had to figure everything out on your own. As a first-generation student, that was intimidating. But Jana described something different — a program built around support, connection, and people who want you to succeed.
And that’s exactly what I found when I joined the program.
Future Connect awarded me a scholarship that allowed me to stay in school full time and afford essentials like a laptop. Just as important, it gave me people I could count on. My coach, Suzanne Hesse, answered my endless questions, connected me with resources like food vouchers when I needed them, and checked on me when my cat became seriously ill. She cared about me, not just my grades. She helped me write scholarship essays, celebrated every accomplishment, and reminded me that I belonged — even before I fully believed it myself.
I never wanted to miss class. If I had a doctor’s appointment, I’d try to reschedule it because I was just so excited to be there. After spending years outside of school, I didn’t take a single day for granted. I also wanted other students to share the same welcoming community that I had. I became one of Future Connect’s first student ambassadors, and I helped organize events that connected current students from different backgrounds through activities like study spaces and game nights. I graduated from PCC with a 4.0 GPA.
Future Connect gave me the confidence to believe that college — and everything that comes after it — isn’t just for other people. It’s for me, too.
Nikki McSweeney completed her Associate of Arts Oregon Transfer degree in 2025. She is pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering at Oregon State University, with dreams of designing products that improve people’s lives.