making it
“I actually made it. I’m doing hair at a fast paced salon and am able to interact with the community in a positive way. I’m somebody and I’m great.”
Janet shared that she didn’t have the easiest upbringing: “It all started back in elementary school. From second grade all the way up to my senior year I had an IEP for social emotional. I was going through foster care, getting tossed between different family members. It was so unstable, which just followed me my entire life.”
Despite the challenges Janet faced, she persisted, determined to finish high school. She shared, “Right before my senior year I got pregnant. I had like 15 more credits I had to get to graduate.” Without a babysitter, she pushed the school to accommodate her, and they eventually allowed her to work in the conference room with her child and receive her diploma.
She went on to say, “While all of this was happening, I got everyone looking at me like she’s not gonna be nobody great.”
But Janet’s journey wasn’t finished.“I looked myself in the mirror, I told myself either I can take everything everyone is saying and make it a reality, or I can make my own reality, and make it better. So I started looking into doing hair because I love doing hair and nails.”
Janet was well on her way to getting a degree in cosmetology when she ran into an issue with her enrollment. That’s when she met Education Advocate Jerry, who stepped in to make sure she was able to continue with her dream and helped her apply for our scholarship. She shared, “Jerry told me the best thing you can do is try to reach your goal, and if you don’t succeed, then at least you tried. Those are the words that can really change somebody's life.”
And Janet’s life was changed: “I graduated with two Associates Degrees, have two cosmetology licenses, and now I work for Great Clips.”
“I’m proud of finishing, because sometimes I let my thoughts overwhelm me to where I’m just like I can’t do this, or I let what other people say affect me really bad. So I'm really proud that this time around I only listened to what was motivating, and everything else I just let it go.”
