My Head Start Story: Cynthia

Story Submitted By: Cynthia, Head Start staff

Before joining Head Start, I was a young immigrant woman from Belize working at Carl’s Jr., studying early childhood education while trying to make ends meet. I carried the emotional weight of a difficult childhood and a strong desire to protect children from the kinds of challenges I endured growing up. When a friend told me about a job opening at the Los Angeles Urban League Head Start program in 1998, I took a chance, and it changed my life.

I started as an Assistant Teacher and was quickly promoted to Supervisor under the mentorship of Mary Idella Coleman. Through Head Start, I found my purpose. The program gave me not only a career path but also healing. By helping children and families, especially those with limited resources, I began to see my own story differently. I learned resilience, empathy, and leadership.

I do what I do because I know what it feels like to not be protected as a child. That experience stayed with me, and it’s the reason I chose a career where I could be what I needed when I was younger, someone who sees, supports, and stands up for children.

Working in Head Start gave me more than a job, it gave me a mission. It helped me realize that I could help change the lives of children and families who, like me, had faced difficult beginnings. Every day, I show up to give children the strong start I never had. I do it with heart, with patience, and with purpose.
I believe all children deserve to be safe, nurtured, and heard, and I believe that with the right support, from programs like Head Start, they can grow, thrive, and overcome anything.