My out, an acceptance letter from a federally funded program at UNT school of osteopathic medicine. I packed everything I could in my little car and drove to the dorms, the place that was our summer housing.

Broken and vulnerable, a nice man promised me a wonderful life. I got pregnant, he left, and my dreams were thrown in the trash. At this point I had given up, but a friend told me about Cornerstone. I began the program and met the goals that my caseworker and I had established together. Eleven months into the program baby number three was on the way. My caseworker never gave up on me though. We talked about life, goals, and the power to change our lives. I didn’t believe her. I just listened. My caseworker was planting seeds that sprouted some years later when I went back to school and graduated from UTA College of Nursing. I went from having my every need provided by the government to earning a six-figure income today.

My oldest daughter will be attending UTA in pursuit of her nursing degree as well. My newest goal is to obtain my Doctor of Nursing Practice-Family Nurse Practitioner. I am the first person in my entire family to graduate from college. I’ve changed the direction of my family history.