Role-model from an Unlikely Source

                Friend, partner, hunter, and fisher Michelle Nordlum is loyal, trustworthy and dependable to all who know her.  From getting stuck in the mud, needing help with math, needing a couch to crash on or help sawing down trees in your yard it is just a commonly known fact that Nordlum will be there to lend a hand if it is within her power.  For Nordlum and her friends and family, it hasn’t always been this way however.

                At the age of 16 due to severe peer pressure Nordlum got involved in drugs.  Her entire circle of friends were users of some nature and she came from a family with a history of addiction, many who joined Nordlum in becoming chemically dependent during this time in her life. 

                “You name it and I did it, with the exception of heroin,” stated Nordlum. 

                Nordlum spent the period of the next eight years in a drug abuse pattern.  In Dec. of 1999 high on drugs and alcohol, she got behind the wheel and was involved in a serious accident. 

                “I rolled like three and a half-time’s, smacked into a tree and dislocated my hip,” said Nordlum.  “I was airlifted to North Memorial Hospital where I spent all of Christmas.”

                It was during her stay in the hospital that Nordlum made the decision to get clean.  Because of the rampant drug abuse in her circle of friends and family it was through “me, myself and I” that helped Nordlum to get clean.  Remarkably though it wasn’t long after getting sober herself that she was an influence to that same circle of friends and family to get clean as well. 

                Since becoming sober Nordlum has held a steady job for the past 12 years, came out to her friends and family, started her relationship with long-term domestic partner and now owns her own home along with a large variety of recreational vehicles.

                “I was finally able to stop house-jumping, sleeping on anyone’s couch that would let me and become a homeowner.  I am very proud of that status,” remarked Nordlum.

                Her newest greatest achievement has been to return to school.  Having been out of school since 1993 and at the age of 35 Nordlum decided that she was tired from welding and physical labor.  Now a full-time student at Anoka-Ramsey Community College in Cambridge, Nordlum is pursuing a degree in Computer Science.  It is because of her earlier history in drugs that she feels even more challenged than the average non-traditional student.

                “I struggle with memory issues and comprehension of material.  I find myself relying heavily on my friends and family for assistance,” said Nordlum.  “It is kind of nice that since becoming clean and starting school, I inspired most of my family to return to school as well and we can rely and help each other when needed.”

                Just today Nordlum sought a tutor to help her successfully get through a tough essay in an English class. 

                “What she said really made a lot of sense,” stated Nordlum.

                Nordlum’s current GPA is 3.75 and she is getting A’s and B’s in all of her current classes.  She has to work extra hard to succeed in classes like English, Literature and Speech but despite the challenge she has persevered. 

                Now Nordlum in turn has become the stability and influence on her friends and family that drives them all to achieve.  On weeknights she can be found studying with friends, on weekends she enjoys relaxing by fishing with her dad or brother-in-law.  Just a few short weeks ago, on Nov. 6 she participated in the deer hunting opener by going out with her dad and a few weekends before that she was out hunting duck with her faithful dog Miller and brother-in-law. 

                Despite the fact that her memory has been impaired and she faces both self-inflicted challenges and those of a regular non-traditional student she is a warm hearted, hard working student and friend.