Changing Lives Through Education Join the Take Stock Nation! Helen grew up one of 3 daughters in a single parent home. Her mother and grandmother instilled the importance of a higher education early on in life. Her grandmother, a Cuban immigrant, didn’t receive her high school diploma until she arrived in the United States. Her mother, who joined the United States Marine Corps right out of high school, didn’t complete college. This limited her opportunities when she left the service in 1996. With 3 daughters and no career, her mother was forced to seek government assistance until the family could get back on their feet. This was the year that Helen’s mother moved the family to Green Cove Springs, a hamlet on the St. John’s River in Clay County. While she was attending Green Cove Springs Middle School (now Green Cove Springs Jr. High School), an assistant principal, Ms. Gorman, called her and a number of her classmates to the library to share information about a mentoring and scholarship program with them. Helen took the application home without a thought. Her mother saw this as a pathway to a brighter future. Helen received her Take Stock in Children scholarship in 1997 as part of the first class of Take Stock in Children scholars in Clay County. She went on to graduate from Clay High School (Go Big Blue) in 2001 and attended the University of North Florida in 2005 where she received her Bachelor of Arts in International Studies. After graduating from UNF, Helen had dreams of joining the Foreign Service. After failing the entrance exam, she decided to put her time to good use and mentor a student like her in the Take Stock in Children of Clay County program. Mentoring turned into a part-time job as a Student Advocate, then a full-time job as a Student Advocate. For 5 years, Helen worked with students just like her in Clay and Duval County before joining the State Office in 2010. As a Student Advocate in Clay and Duval County, she witnessed first-hand the disparities between schools in lower-income communities compared to schools in more affluent communities. Students were not afforded the same opportunities and expectations were low. This inequity led Helen to join Teach For America as a staff member in the winter of 2012. As the Development Associate for the region she is responsible for moving her team efficiently and effectively toward reaching an ambitious revenue goal and ensuring the organizations ability to recruit, train, and retain Teach For America corps members in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Outside of Teach For America, Helen is very active in the Miami-Dade volunteer community and donating her time at the Military Hospitality Lounge located at Miami International Airport and with the First United Methodist Church of Downtown Miami’s Feed My Sheep program to feed the homeless population of Miami on Friday mornings.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 20:45:26 +0000
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