“I was so ashamed because my teachers told me I would never make it through math, much less college. This is a prime example of what words can do and the effect they can have and that is why I have a passion for the children in my care to succeed; the suffering gave me the passion. I was the first person in my family to go to college and it is my passion to help others do the same.  Thanks to the Indiana Association for the Education of Young Children and the continuous commitment to support quality early care and education for all children and the professionals teaching them.”