CEO StoryTelling Project

VIOLA: My husband is really a big part of her life, too, he turned into a grandfather when never even had kids so he teaches her about financing and all this other stuff, you know. I teach her how to have fun (laughs).

 

SUKI: Not just that but, uh, we had like a, a language barrier when I first met her because the only language I knew at the time was just Spanish. So, she doesn’t speak a lot of Spanish so when I used to talk to her it's just like I don’t- I don’t know what she wants so I had to- she- she actually taught me a lot of English before I started going to school.

 

VIOLA: Yeah, she’d tell me, uh, “yo quieres leche” and I’m like, huh?

 

SUKI: My mom worked a lot and and after when she was done with work she’d go out to the club and party and stuff like that so, I’m the oldest so I have to take, uh, control and um kinda watch my two younger sisters and my brother so I had to learn how to cook and clean and change diapers and all that stuff like when...four, six, seven? When I was seven years old I had to start watching and then twelve years old I had to start watching, like, cousins and then after that, my mom would just go out with all her friends and they’d drop off their kids so, at one time I’d watch like 12 kids at one time just by myself. So it was just really hard on me so I stopped going to school and then when I turned 18 and I came back to Colorado and moved in with my grandma and grandpa they- they really encouraged me to go back to school.

 

VIOLA: I heard about the program and she needed to go to school to get her GED and so I called and it sounded like a really good program, and especially when I asked him how much is it gonna cost, you know, for the lessons and the class time and he said it was free and I thought, wow. And so I told Suki, well y’know, let's go check and it out and she, I don’t think she missed a day, huh honey?

 

SUKI: Nope, didn’t miss a day. When we found this place, I was a little bit intimidated but I really liked coming so I didn't wanna miss a day, and I passed. Throughout everything that’s happened, I think coming to, to the GED classes has to be one of- one of the best things I did because, if I didn’t come here, I wouldn’t, I don’t think I would be focused on going to college to-to become what I wanna be in life, so...

 

VIOLA: We push each other, as far as, uh, being well. Like I said she takes care, she helps take care of me, I take care of her; we take care of each other.