Student Story
“When I first got here, it’s like a home. You’ve treated me like family.”

Sandra only joined us at LVGH last fall, but it was something she had been dreaming of for much longer. “In Jamaica, I always told myself whenever I raise my kids, I'm going to try to go back to school to try to further my education,” she says. “I told them I'd give them anything I could to help them get the education I didn't get. When she was finally ready, it was Sandra’s niece, who she says she raised like a daughter, who helped her use the internet to find out about us.

She settled in quickly. “When I first got here, it’s like a home. You’ve treated me like family.” She made progress just as fast. “Now, when I’m looking at words on the TV or I see a piece of paper, I’m trying to read it.”

We got to know Sandra pretty quickly, as well. She laughed telling us, “I was talking to my niece and told her I was ready to ask about LVGH helping me get a job. Before I even got the chance, you asked me a few days later, ‘Sandra, are you ready to look for a job?’ I was so glad.”

Now, Sandra is a full-time employee at a local warehouse and is still making time to come to class to improve her reading and writing. “Coming here, being a student, meeting teachers- you're just welcome. I like it. I would tell anyone about it.” We’re so proud of Sandra for taking that step for herself and can’t wait to see how far she goes.