Our Stories

I didn't make much money, and as a single mother raising two sons, we ate a lot of peanut butter at the end of the month. During that time, I worked as hard as I could to be the best English teacher for my students and the best mother I could be to my boys. As an assistant principal, I did everything I could to support good teachers and encourage students to value their education. I support President Obama because I believe he is making the right priorities, choices, and investments to prepare the American people to be competitive in the global economy—an economy that’s built to last, as he often says.

I am now an adjunct English teacher at J. Sargeant Reynolds, a local community college. I love teaching people who have decided to change their lives by going back to college. I work as hard as I can to teach them the skills they will need to be successful in college and the workforce, and every time one of my students succeeds, I feel like I am making a contribution to the whole country. My students come from a variety of backgrounds; their dedication and hard work gives me optimism for our country’s future.

It gives me pride that my President is making sure more students can afford to go to school. Without the Pell Grant scholarships and student loans the President has made more affordable and accessible, many of my students would never even consider going to college. President Obama supports students like mine, and it’s one of the many reasons I support his candidacy for a second term.

While teaching in these circumstances has been challenging, I am grateful that we have a President who stands up for us and our students. President Obama successfully fought to save the jobs of hundreds of thousands of educators across the country, and when Congress refused to act, he relieved states from the worst parts of No Child Left Behind. He gave states the flexibility to improve local schools the way only they know best. The President is also making significant investments in community colleges and supporting partnerships between community colleges and employers to provide pathways to good jobs and brighter futures.

The President knows the importance of a strong schools system because his mother and grandparents instilled in him a solid educational foundation. His mother pushed him to excel, and from grade school to law school, he did. He even went back to law school as a professor.

President Obama has been an exemplary role model for our students, but also for our teachers. He has been a leader and a President of action.

By doubling funding for Pell Grant scholarships, reforming student loans, and creating new tax credits to help millions of Americans earn a college degree, President Obama is helping move us toward a stronger, smarter, and more highly skilled workforce that can rebuild our nation’s economy.

Of course, in Youngstown, his bold decision to rescue the auto industry is making sure there will be good-paying jobs for so many of our students’ families, and for our students when they graduate. General Motors’ plant in Lordstown, Ohio, just 16 miles from Youngstown, is now running three shifts. If GM had been allowed to go bankrupt, the area would have been devastated. The V&M Star steel mill in Youngstown is expanding thanks to President Obama and his Recovery Act, which has created hundreds of good jobs right here in the Mahoning Valley. The way I look at it, anything that helps the Youngstown area get better helps my family and me as well.

But if we want to create even more jobs, we need to keep improving and investing in our education system – cutting education programs and Pell Grants, the way some politicians have proposed, will set us back. We still have a lot of work to do, but President Obama is on the right path to moving our nation forward. As a Neighborhood Team Leader in Youngstown’s 4th Ward, I will be with President Obama every step of the way. I hope you will join me.

President Obama has also recognized flaws in No Child Left Behind and has begun the process of revising the law for the better, stepping up to give states the flexibility they need even when Congress refused to act.

The President shares my belief that it is essential to provide all of our children with a quality education, and that good schools are the best route to improving the economy. I am heartened by the fact that President Obama has made significant investments in community colleges, and I am glad he has made college more affordable for millions of additional students by expanding Pell Grant scholarships and establishing the new American Opportunity Tax Credit that will help families send their children to college. Like the President, I believe education is an economic imperative. That is why I am supporting President Obama and doing everything I can as a volunteer to ensure he is re-elected.