By Whitney Justice | Grants and Communications Officer
The mission of Women's Employment Network (WEN) is to assist women in raising their self-esteem and achieving economic independence through sustained employment. We were founded in 1986 with a vision of advancing the lives of women, their families, and the Greater Kansas City community, one woman at a time. In this case, that one woman is Elena. In 2016-2017, the Women's Employment Network (WEN) served 662 clients, like Elena, seeking to better their lives.
A Big Desire for Change: Elena's Story
Elena, dressed in a fashionable bright pink blouse, thoughtfully sipped her coffee in a cafe on the plaza as she recalled her difficult, yet ultimately successful, career journey. The path, which took a significant leap from travel agent to Middle School Science teacher over the course of nine years, was anything but easy. "Now, I'm looking forward to when everything is going to be boring. I want to be bored!" Elena joked as she recalled the past few years.
Elena achieved a Master's of Education from her native country, Russia. Upon graduation, she was unable to find a job in the education field. That is how she ended up with a job as a travel agent. As her career in the travel business developed she visited several countries and concluded that she wanted to live in the U.S. She came here in 2003.
Elena continued working in the travel industry and moved to Liberty, Missouri when her husband was transferred. Elena hit a rough patch during the economic crisis and in February 2009 was laid off. At that point, she was in crisis, recently separated from her husband with a newborn, trying to manage on her own. She was living off of loans and social assistance. Elena was connected to Women's Employment Network through a referral from an emergency shelter for women and children.
Elena described the first week at WEN as a little bit awkward. Her class was such a mixture of different women with different backgrounds. One woman was trying to figure out how best to use her Master's degree and another woman was focused on finding a job while on probation. It was quite an experience for her. "It was like a mini America where you learn about different kinds of people and personalities and WEN taught us how to deal with it." She said.
At WEN Elena was able to move away from the travel and tourism field and work towards her goal of becoming an educator. She became employed as a substitute teacher as she began taking courses at University-Missouri Kansas City where she worked towards a teaching certification.
Elena's son, Max, is now eight years old and thriving. He will be going into third grade next school year and trying to learn Russian.
WEN left an excellent impression on Elena. She still looks through her old materials to make sure she is using the information she learned. To others that might be thinking about going to WEN Elena says, "I would recommend WEN if you have a big desire for change. You need to have an open mind."
Elena now holds her Master's in Arts of Teaching English as a Second Language and is teaching Science to English Language Learners at Northeast Middle School. "It feels really, really good to finally reach this goal. I am one of those people that can't settle down, so I will probably find another goal. Right now, I am looking forward to a break."
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