Admit it: most of us have played the Game of Life at once during our childhood. While we played, we laughed and we got excited about the possibilities of winning. However, when it comes down to our own lives, many of us don’t think about how hard it might be to win in our own lives.

Because of this, the Capital Area College Access Network (CapCAN ) is focused on preparing students socially, academically and financially for postsecondary study.

The focus is to increase the number of Michigan residents with high-quality degrees or credentials to 60 percent by the year 2025. Stockbridge joins with a number of other schools in the Capital Area, with plans to participate in the program for the 2016 school year.

Principal Richard Cook learned about the opportunity through Webberville, which was already participating in the program.  After a competitive process, Ms. Island Ellerby was selected for Stockbridge’s CapCAN representative.

Ellerby is a recent graduate from Michigan State’s Honor College, with a major in Psychology and a minor in Economics. After she was screened by the Michigan State College Advising Corps, which sets out to provide guidance to low-income, first generation or underrepresented students, she was referred to Cook as a possible candidate.  Her time at the high school will be split with Webberville.

“My understanding is that [Island] is supposed to offer things that we cannot offer here,” guidance counselor Leslie Cummings said. “Mr Cook will be in charge of directing her, and he wants her to enhance and support what we already do.”

“No one tells us how to do this stuff, so having someone come to the high school would benefit me a lot because right now I have no idea what to do,” junior Saoirse Cox said. “When it comes time to fill out an application, I don’t want to fill it out wrong and have that impact where I’m going.”

Thanks to Ellerby, when it comes to real life, we’ll be winners.