This is the face of resilience. This is Veronica.
Born one of 12 siblings, Veronica was raised to her early teen years in a housing community beset by poverty and crime. She was 13 when she was placed into foster care and, a year later, she came to Methodist Home for Children.
Today, Veronica is a college graduate – described by social workers as one of the most resourceful and resilient people they’ve ever met.
She was the first student to graduate from Wake Tech’s Fostering Bright Futures program in 2012, earning an associate degree in criminal justice, and she graduated from UNC-Greensboro in August with a bachelor’s degree in sustainable hospitality and tourism.
We are so very proud of Veronica and her drive to stay focused and positive. As a beneficiary of our Hackley Education & Learning Program – which helped her with tuition, housing, and transportation – she gives back now by encouraging kids in foster care to surround themselves with successful people and to earn their degrees. UNC-Greensboro, she tells them, introduced her to a world of diverse people, cultures, and thought that she treasured as a student and she continues to cultivate in her new career. She gets to meet colorful people every day as VIP host at Harrah’s Casino Cherokee – a job she loves – and she’s saving so she can help her family and see the world by traveling.
Congratulations to you, Veronica, for this latest achievement.