Bellevue Graduation Speaker Talks About Fighting Addiction
BELLEVUE, Nebraska (Nebraska) – It was an exciting day as Bellevue University celebrated its new graduates with a winter ceremony.
Getting a degree isn’t easy, and Saturday’s graduation speaker knows it all too well.
If you ask Holly Porter, she never thought she would be standing there during the ceremony. She was selected as a speaker at the Bellevue Winter Graduation Ceremony.
But earning a Bachelor of Science in Behavioral Science was not easy. She says she has struggled with addiction and infertility.
“So, at 15, I started drinking and using marijuana, and then it just got worse,” Porter said.
She tried methamphetamine and lived in her car at 18.
“My parents loved me very, very much, but so much that they couldn’t let me. So I literally lost everything and everyone.”
After several years of sobriety, she returned to alcohol. But this will be the last time.
“Oct. On December 6, 2016, I decided that I was done. I never intended to drink again. I was going to be the mom I wanted, the counselor I wanted.”
At six years sober, she reached out to her classmates, spreading the message of perseverance.
Now an alcohol and drug counselor, she spreads the word and helps others overcome addiction.
Her family, friends and young son proudly support her.
“You can say, ‘Hey, I need help.’ Even those who drink the gray zone with the words “maybe I have a problem, but I have not hit the bottom yet”, they are not alone, you are not alone.
Holly will continue her education and plans to get a master’s degree in psychology.
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