I thought it was kind of crazy, considering moving to California. I had never left Indiana. But the Dream Center was such a unique place that I had to try it. I decided to change my major to Organizational Leadership. This was an Associate’s degree program so that I could graduate in a year. I wanted to make sure I had a degree before I left school because I wasn’t sure where my life would go once I got to L.A. I graduated with my Associate’s degree in Organizational Leadership in June of 2017 and left for California in August.
My dad let me borrow his car for my year in L.A., so I drove myself through many western states I had never visited before and started my job at the Dream Center. When new workers arrive at the Dream Center, they don’t know what kind of job they will have. The staff places you in a job based on your preferences and experiences. I was placed in the GED sector of the Dream Center. (A GED stands for general education degree. It’s kind of like a high school diploma, but for people who did not finish high school.) When I found out my placement, I was upset. I thought, “I just left teaching to come here. I want to do something new and exciting.” Every day, I worked with adult women who were recovering from addictions and taught them lessons to help them earn their GEDs. I fell in love with teaching through this experience. I learned that teaching might be what I was supposed to do after all.
At the Dream Center, your job changes after six months, so my next assignment was what they called Adopt a Block. Every day, I would go to different people’s houses to help with cleaning or different needs they had and then over to a place called Skid Row. It is a large area in downtown L.A. where people experiencing homelessness live.
