Celebrating #MICharterGrad Shana Dorais

A Head Start on College and a Career as a Teacher: Celebrating #MICharterGrad Shana Dorais

By Buddy Moorehouse

Growing up in the small town of Gladwin as a homeschooled student, Shana Dorais knew what she wanted to do with her life: “I’ve always wanted to be a high school social studies teacher.”

Coming into her junior year of high school, Shana and her parents knew that her days as a homeschooled student were coming to an end. The Dorais family started looking for a great school fit and they found it at LifeTech Academy, an online charter school that’s authorized by the Eaton Rapids Public School District.

“We saw a flyer for the school and noticed that they had an Early Middle College program,” Shana said. “That’s what really appealed to us the most.”

It turned out to be the perfect fit. Shana was able to take high school classes through LifeTech Academy while at the same time taking online college classes through Ferris State University. She’s graduating this spring with both a high school diploma and a college associate’s degree.

“The first year I think was the hardest because it took me a while to get into the rhythm of attending school and I wasn't used to the college-level classes,” Shana said. “I actually found that it got easier when I had more college classes to do because I had more of a routine and I found it easier to get into the rhythm.”

Shana took a variety of high school classes through LifeTech Academy (including her favorite class – history) while at the same time getting all her required classes done at Ferris State.

“I was hoping that it would give me a head start on my future, and it really did,” Shana said. “I was also hoping that it would prepare me for going to college, and it did that, too.”

Shana said that one of her best teachers at LifeTech was her mentor, Jenny Anderson.

“She was a big help to me,” Shana said. “She was my mentor for the past two years. Mentors are the people at LifeTech who make sure students are keeping up on their work, that they aren't failing all their classes, that they're getting the support that they need. And she was a big help.”

It wasn’t all academics at LifeTech for Shana. She also got involved as a member the National Honor Society, which gave her the opportunity take part in a variety of community-service projects.

“I volunteered at the local library and I also volunteered at the Midland Center for the Arts,”
Shana said. “I also volunteered at our church doing whatever needed to be done. It was really rewarding.”

As for her future, Shana is off to Central Michigan University this fall with designs on a career as a high school social studies teacher. “I know a lot of people from my town who have gone to Central for teaching, and it’s an excellent school for that,” she said.

Shana loves social studies, and she has a special passion for learning and eventually teaching history.

“Teaching about history is what I’m most passionate about,” she said. “Young people need to learn about the past so we can learn from our past mistakes and grow in the future. I enjoy learning about things of the past.”