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Read a message from Elaina:

I would like to share my journey with you. I grew up in a small town in Thatcher, AZ and graduated from Safford High School in 2000.  A few months later, I became a single mom of now amazing young women. I tried to go to college when my daughter was in pre-k thinking it would be easy.  I was wrong. I had to choose between working, feeding my daughter, or going to school. Yep, I picked my daughter.  Long story short, co-parenting was anything but easy and I felt my daughter suffered. I worked a lot to try to give her the best life. In 2008, I was blessed with another gorgeous daughter. In 2015, I married the man I had a secret crush on since I was 15 years old!  The transition from being a single mom, making all the decisions, to being married was exciting and scary. I also suffer from manic Depression and Anxiety. Living with this can be disabling. In 2014, I started babysitting from home but it wasn’t paying the bills.  So, in 2015 my husband pushed me into job hunting. I took a chance and applied at an actual children’s center. I had no education for this but I knew I loved children and caring for them.  Apparently, Ms. Betty and Ms. Veronica could tell I genuinely cared for children because I was offered the job, Yay me!  This was the beginning.

I was offered a chance to get a CDA in Early Childhood Education. Did I stop at just a pre-k CDA?  Nope, I went on to get my CDA in toddlers as well.  A few years later, a lead teacher spot opened. I was very unsure of myself, hence the anxiety.  Of course, there was a road block. The position required an AAS in ECE and all I had was a dual CDA. I knew I couldn’t afford to go back to school so I was extremely upset. I had been acting lead for some time and now I would have to give it up. Nope! I heard that the Arizona Early Childhood Workforce Registry offered scholarships for those of us who wanted to continue to better ourselves. After talking to my husband and my parents, I applied. I was impressed with the Registry because they made it so easy to apply for the scholarship.  Not to mention they are so sweet and helpful; they always answered my ridiculous questions. I was 30 something starting college, raising my girls, and working. I am not going to lie, sometimes I wanted to quit but I had an amazing support group that reminded me of the reason I was doing this- for my girls, for my children in my class, and most of all, for me!  I am the queen of self-doubt and self-sabotage. However, I pushed myself and made sacrifices, not only me but my family did as well. I am so grateful for everyone who has pushed me and given me pep talks, and listened to me cry when I thought I wasn’t good enough. I graduated in May from Eastern Arizona College with an AAS in Early Childhood Education. All because Ms. Betty and Ms. Veronica gave me a chance. Maybe they saw something in me I didn’t. If you are like me and full of excuses and self-sabotage, I am here to tell you that YOU CAN DO THIS!!  Isn’t your turn to feel pride in yourself? The Registry is the whole reason I am able to feel pride in myself. FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART, THANK YOU! WITHOUT YOU I WOULD NOT BE HERE!!  Thank you for giving me the tools I needed to continue the career I never thought I would have. Bachelor’s, here I come!