Our scholarship consists of women of all walks of life.
Answer made me feel like I was significant, that I was important, that I mattered.
When I was 16, I decided to move out. I had had enough of watching domestic violence situations.
I couldn't enroll myself in school at such a young age in South Carolina.
So I had to drop out, and so I went to work full time.
And shortly after that, I discovered I was pregnant with my daughter.
And then a few years later, my son was born, and I knew that going to school and trying to work and support them
was going to be too difficult of a task.
At the time I was 21, I was working in the restaurants as a manager.
So I really thought that since I had these positions, and I was still so young, that I was okay,
and that everything was going to be okay, and the thought of getting a college education just kind of got further and further away.
Unfortunately, I did deal with some substance use problems, and I think that that kind of clouded my vision as well.
And whenever I found out that I was pregnant with Caitlyn, that really changed my life.
It was time to move on to the next step in my life, and that was to go back to school,
because I realized that if I was settling in my own life, that no matter how much I encouraged my daughter to do more,
that she too would settle.
We have different age ranges in our program, and what is amazing to me is that they decided to do something about their education.
And they didn't allow other obstacles to stand in their way.
The financial aspect has helped me focus more on my family and my schooling.
I don't have to worry about where's our next meal going to come from, or how am I going to study because I have to go work.
It's that help, that assistance that we need.
So Answer doesn't just help us financially, they guide us and direct us with their Mentors for Mom program.
It's a great opportunity for the recipients to meet women who have already been through raising children and going to school
and obtaining their degrees and getting settled in their careers.
We have monthly meetings where we all come together as a cohesive group, and you don't feel that you are alone,
because there are others like you in the room.
It's nothing like talking to someone that's been where you are.
I'm going to Monterey College for my Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Human Services,
and I hope to someday shape the mental health field for the better.
I'm a first generation college graduate in my family, and I think it's really significant that Answer comes alongside of me
and helps me to show my children the value of education and how it's going to make a difference in their lives and the lives of their children.
I am studying psychology. I've already started taking graduate level classes in bioinformatics.
What I feel like Answer has given me is true strength in the face of adversity.
What it's like to persevere and to overcome no matter what you've been through.
I've been able to buy my first home, and I'm watching my children grow up and making plans for college.
I feel like Answer has really changed and shaped my life for the better.
