Portland State Magazine Spring 2009

Wil. TfEN BY MELISSA STEINEGER DYNAMO, says the Webster's entry, means "a forceful, energetic individual." There isn't a picture of Caressa Sims in the dictionary, but there could be. Sims '08 caught fire her junior year at Portland's Jefferson High School. A mediocre student until that point, she decided that she wanted to attend college. As the first in her family to aspire to higher education, she knew she would have to get there on her own. "I didn't have one penny for school," she says. Sims immersed herself in her studies, earning straight Xs her last two years at Jefferson. Bur Sims, realizing she needed scholarships ro afford college, knew it would rake more than a couple of years of good grades to qualify. So she threw herself into athletics, hoping to garner 14 PORTLAN D STATE MAGAZINE SPRING 2009 a scholarship. Track seemed the easiest ro learn, so she willed herself to become a sprinter. Her plan worked. Sims was accepted to nine schools and offered several athletic scholarships. She chose Portland State in part because the University offered her the Jane Morrow Scholarship for athletics and the Goodman Scholarship for academics. She went on to earn other scholarships at PSU, including the Les Fahey/KPMG Scholarship and the Levin/ Fowler Scholarship. This last gift came with a surprise: per– sonal help and encouragement from the donor couple, Irving Levin and Stephanie Fowler (see accompanying story). Once at PSU, Sims pursued a major in business account– ing because, she says, the subject was so difficult. "I wanted PSU he 012 er.