Maria Segura

“Going to school is your success.”

Maria Segura is a 39-year-old native of Mexico.  She left school in the tenth grade, after getting married.  Segura worked in the fields with her family to make a living.  After fainting one day while packing tomatoes, she said, “I don’t want to spend the rest of my life working in the fields, migrating from place to place.”  She wanted a better life and a way to help her children, but she needed a program that would provide free childcare.  Segura then learned about the Jump Start Family Literacy Program. Her son Anthony was three years old at the time, and Jump Start gave them the opportunity to learn together.  “I could stand up and look over the divider and I could see him, and then I would get back to my studies,” said Segura.   

When Anthony saw his mother learning, he would get excited.  “He was saying, ‘Mommy, you’re reading a book!’”  Segura said.  Her son’s passion motivated her even more, and despite resistance from her family, Segura successfully obtained her GED in seven months.  She now works at Jump Start Family Literacy program as the lead teacher.  Segura plans to seek a bachelor’s degree, but currently she is helping her children attend college.