Teen Mom to College Graduate: You can too!
"Hard work pays off. It's okay to follow your own path and do things different that our culture is used to."
Lizzett Guzman
- Littlerock High School
- Cal State Northridge , B.A child development
- National University , MA teaching and Behavioral Analyst
I graduated high school with a 4.2 grade point average, and started my first year at Cal State Northridge. During that time, I got my first job at McDonald’s and was able to buy my first car. After my first-year I came out pregnant at 18 years old: I was scared, overwhelmed, excited, and nervous. I decided to get married to my husband and moved back home to Palmdale, California, to raise my upcoming baby. When my family began to find out I was having a baby, they responded with, “Wow! You are so young.” “All your dreams and ambitions gone to waste”, and “I couldn’t continue with my career and dreams.” But I continued despite what my family and culture thought of me. I used their comments as motivation to become a young mom pursuing higher education.
I can now enjoy my career choice, a better way of living, and setting an example for my daughters and family members. It wasn’t an easy task. I was portrayed as a “bad mom” for pursuing higher education while working full-time. But these challenges and stigmas only helped me overcome any obstacles that came my way.
Watching my daughters face in my graduations made it all worth it, and hearing them say “I want to be like you mom,” was worth every struggle, time, and effort. I believe that God is always good, and without him, I would not have been able to gain the courage, have my husband, who is my number one supporter, and took on two jobs to make sure I could make my dreams a reality.
