Famous author Zig Ziglar once said, “If you can dream it, then you can achieve it.” For Ms. Orejel, an ESP customer, she always had a dream of continuing her education and obtaining her GED.
Ms. Orejel, a Mexican resident, attended school in the United States. While in high school, she became pregnant and had to drop out of school to care for her child. Providing the best for her family became Ms. Orejel’s main priority. When her child turned 3 years old, she enrolled her child in ESP’s Hispanic Transitional Head Start classroom.
One of Ms. Orejel’s goals, when she started the Head Start Program, was to continue her education by going back to school to pursue her GED. Ms. Orejel came to Ms. Brewster, a Head Start Family Service Worker, for advice, resources and re-direction on how to get on a path to success and obtain her GED. Ms. Brewster was more than willing to help Ms. Orejel by guiding her to a level of self-sufficiency.
Ms. Orejel came to Ms. Brewster numerous times with anxiety and skepticism about taking the test. Ms. Brewster provided Ms. Orejel with encouragement and resources to help relieve her anxieties. Ms. Brewster reminded Ms. Orejel of her dream and stated to her “this is what you want and you are going to do well”.
In November, Ms. Orejel took the cumulative GED test and successfully passed.
Ms. Orejel’s graduation was held in December and she received her GED.