Dimitri Ivanor
Student
“Without Future Connect, I don’t know if I would’ve pursued college…Being at PCC has helped me in my own personal evolution.”
Dimitri Ivanor,
Powell’s Scholar and Future Connect Scholarship Recipient,
PCC Creative Writing Student & Future Author
I love the smell of books. My dream is to write a book so good that someone will want to steal it.
Sometimes, I’ll go into Powell’s and wander the aisles for hours. I did this a lot during my senior year of high school when I experienced homelessness.
Growing up, I was a nerdy kid who got grounded for reading too much. My parents, immigrants from Laos and Thailand who didn’t go to college, tried to push me into math and sciences. I wasn’t very good at those subjects. They also tried to push strict gender norms onto me. I identify as trans—my pronouns are he/him and it/its. It’s a struggle every day to know who you are, then have other people tell you who they think you are.
I’ve also struggled with depression and chronic pain. Writing is a way for me to cope. I can let my mind float, create my own world and be in control of what happens.
A high school teacher first pointed me toward the Future Connect program at PCC. Without Future Connect, I don’t know if I would’ve pursued college. I thought I wasn’t going to get too involved at PCC but then all of a sudden I was meeting a lot with Dana, my Future Connect coach, and signing up for classes and joining clubs. I love Dana. She’s always had an open door and is so patient and supportive.
Being at PCC has helped me in my own personal evolution. I’ve realized that I’m in charge of the change that happens in my community. I’ve got a job as a classroom aide in Accessible Ed & Disability Resources, and I’m a student advocate at the Queer Resource Center. It’s really cool that there’s such a mix of people at PCC. It makes me hopeful about the world and my place in it.