I love my position and I am working very hard to help families that, like me, have goals and dreams.
– Enmely Rodriguez, social service worker, Miami, FL
I needed to start working and go to school but never had someone to help me with my daughter, until someone referred me to O'Farrill Learning Center Head Start Program. We stayed on a waiting list; and when they called me to inform me that my daughter was accepted, I cried out of happiness. When the school year started, I was always trying to be part of everything as a parent volunteer in all activities with the children. I volunteered in the office, classrooms, and I was part of the parent committee as a chairperson from 2012–2013. In 2013–2014, I was nominated from the parent committee as the policy committee secretary; and now, in 2014–2015, I am the governing board representative.
I had the chance to start working with the school as a part-time tutor in the after-school program. I was able to provide for my family while going to school; now, I am more than halfway done with my associate degree. I have my daughter in kindergarten, still coming to the after-school, and my son started at the O'Farrill Learning Center Head Start Program now that he is 3 years old. I thank them every day for the opportunities they have offered me and my family, and like me, we have many families that need the help and the opportunities to grow as a person. I am always trying to keep myself active in the center as a volunteer and always give them the best of me. On November 2014, the position as a social service worker was open again. I applied with all the faith I was going to get it, since I had worked so hard to learn as much as I can in such a little time, and they hired me after interviews. I love my position and I am working very hard to help families that, like me, have goals and dreams. With just a little push and help, I can make a big difference in their life without them noticing, little by little.