Laura Calderon

“Don't give up.”

Laura Calderon’s family moved from Mexico to the United States when she was in eighth grade.  Her family was very poor and, as the oldest child, she dropped out of school as a young teenager to work in the fields to help support her family.  She worked in the fields for five years; during this time, she married and had a daughter.
           
Her daughter and husband were the main motivators for Calderon to enter into adult education.  Calderon’s husband would read to their daughter every night and encouraged Calderon to go back to school to provide a better life for their daughter.  Due to their support, Calderon and her daughter joined the Glades Tri-City Family Education Center an initiative of the Palm Beach County Literacy Coalition.  In less than three years, Laura progressed through more than eight grade levels and received her GED.

After Calderon obtained her GED, she became an AmeriCorps volunteer for two years at the Glades Family Education Center.  At the end of her service, she received an education award, and is currently using that money to take college courses.  The recipient of the 2005 Susan Green Award, a national student recognition award, Calderon currently is a day instructor in the Glades program, while pursuing a career as a teacher. 

Calderon is an active literacy ambassador, regularly accepting speaking engagements to promote and support literacy.  In 2003, she was a featured speaker at the Florida Celebration of Literacy Event, sharing the stage with President George H.W. Bush, Barbara Bush and Governor Jeb Bush.

Words of Encouragement: Just work hard and don’t give up because every goal that we set is not going to be easy to achieve but we have to work hard and study hard and do our best and the goal will come.

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