Local News

<< Previous   of   Next >> (click to enlarge) Megan Drawsky graduated on Saturday from Sultan High School.   ADVERTISEMENT   Related Stories • Graduates of 2008: School work kept Lake Stevens boy focused 6/8/08 • Darrington teen learned to use abilities 6/8/08 • Illness put Granite grad's goal in focus 6/8/08 • Kamiak's dynamic duo head for Havard 6/8/08 • Path of Snohomish grad inspires father 6/8/08   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Sunday, June 8, 2008 Sultan grad had to take charge When Megan Drawsky was 1, her parents divorced. When she was 7, her dad had a seizure and died. At 13, the stepfather who raised her moved away. A few months later, foreclosure claimed the home she shared with her mom and younger sister. Three years later, at 16, she woke up to the wail of sirens. Her mom's boyfriend came into her bedroom and said, "She's gone." Her mom had died in her sleep of a mixture of alcohol and prescription drugs. Drawsky and her sister, Marlayna Drawsky, were orphans. She sat in the front row at her mom's funeral Mass, tears streaming down her checks, holding their 7-year-old half-sister on her lap and carrying her through the service. Afterward, the little girl went to live with her father and the Drawsky sisters clung to each other. Together, they moved into a one-bedroom cabin at a friend's house in Monroe. It was Drawsky's all-time low. She felt like a guest in the house. She missed her mom and the privacy of her own room. As her life fell apart, Drawsky learned to take charge. "Once she passed away, I realized, 'It's all on me now,'" she said. "'No one's going to support me. If I don't do well, it's all on me.'" Drawsky started doing her homework. Her grades improved. She continued playing soccer and became a stand-out member of the Monroe High School basketball squad. She volunteered as a girls basketball coach in Sultan. The sisters eventually moved in with their 72-year-old grandmother in Gold Bar. Drawsky transferred to Sultan High School. When she graduated on Saturday, she became the first person in her immediate family to do so. The milestone is bittersweet. She wishes her parents could see her and how far she's come. Next year she plans to study at Everett Community College. She currently works at a coffee stand to pay for her living expenses and plans to pick up a second job to pay for college. She wants to earn a lot of money, because she knows she has no one to fall back on. "I hear kids say, 'I hate my parents.' I shake my head and think, 'You have no idea.'" she said. "I've gone through things most kids won't go through until they're 40. I'm grateful because I'm not so ignorant of what will happen when I'm old. I have a clear view of what needs to be done." -- Kaitlin Manry

1. Fire destroys Silver Lake landmark 2. Tree clearing, mud slide angers Everett neighbor 3. County tackles bikini barista rules 4. Six people injured in Machias car crash 5. Edmonds councilwoman dies at 59 6. Search for missing hiker called off 7. Later start for school day unlikely in Marysville 8. Extended tax credit should spur home sales 9. Hopes for Snohomish excursion train may hinge on railway purchase 10. Designing a new business 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

• Gough on track to keep job • Jazz vocalist headlines NPAC • Mountlake Terrace makes football history • Tax revenue sagging, city budgets lagging • ‘Touch of Magic' show opens at Gallery North • Jackson repeats as South champs • Holiday Bazaars Calendar • Meadowdale storms back to grab title • Edmonds moves to Fire District 1 • Boeing will build, flight test and deliver 787s in South Carolina to spe ... • Snohomish County EDC promoting job growth in key industry clusters • $4 million grant to advance brain tumor research has Everett links • Providence medical center construction tops off its 12-story steel frame ... • Tulalip affordable housing project to be financed by KeyBank, Raymond Ja ... • Arlington's Lak of Ink has a growing following for Luke Kooyman's creati ... • Bank of the Northwest formed • Cascade Bank earns $1.6 million