Success Story: Lady
Lady, North Carolina
Lady is a member of the inaugural cohort of Telamon | TRC’s Pathways to Success program. Originally from Mexico, Lady came to live with relatives in Indiana as a 15-year-old. It was her hope to go to school and work in America to help support her parents, who remained in Mexico. She first worked at a cell phone factory in Indiana, but soon moved to North Carolina to escape an unhealthy family situation. There, Lady began to build her own life. After a stint working in a sweet potato packaging plant, she met and married her husband, who is a cabinet maker and installer. Lady is a stay-at-home mother of 4 children, ranging in age from 3–14. She learned of the Pathways to Success program at Telamon | TRC’s Midway Head Start program center, where her 3-year old Yarely is enrolled and thriving. Because her older children were not doing well in school, she jumped on the opportunity offered by Telamon | TRC’s Pathways to Success program to learn English and basic computer skills. A motivated and diligent student, it was not long before Lady could log in to her children’s school portals to see their grades, report cards, and activities. Once she was able to see exactly what they were assigned, including their test dates and scores, she sprang into action to motivate and support them. Her older children had mixed feelings about their mom’s new computer savvy and communication skills. Since Lady could now log in to the school portal and see their assignments and grades, she stayed on top of them to make sure they were on track — that they were studying for tests and turning in homework. This has made a huge difference. While their test scores were in the 50’s, they are now in the 80’s — from nearly failing grades to solid B averages. After completing the full curriculum of English as a Second Language (ESL) and Adult Basic Education (ABE) courses, Lady plans to enroll in the local community college to pursue a degree in nursing. A career in nursing has always been her dream, as her father has had health issues his whole life. Lady is driven to help people. She has shared that the Pathways to Success program has been one of the best experiences of her life.
“I am grateful to Telamon staff who encourage and support me all the time. They tell me “tu puedes!”-‘you can do this’. Now, I know I can. “
In addition to the supportive staff, she continues to gain from the camaraderie and mutual support of other families enrolled in the program. Lady’s new skill set is making a profound difference in the lives of her children; it is setting them up for success in their own lives. Lady is a wonderful role model for her children, a living example of the power of education to affect generational change.
