class of 2009 > jacqueline salais

Jacqueline Salais has two children - a 16-month-old son, Brandon, and a 3 1/2-year-old daughter, Jazleen - who makes her smile no matter what.

"The most special thing about my children is the way they look at me and call me mom," she says. "My day could be the worst but when I hear their little voices calling me, it makes my day."

Being a teen mother has affected Jacqueline in a good way. Before she became pregnant with her daughter, she was out of school for two years, but when she found out she was pregnant she went back to school. "If it wasn't for me getting pregnant I don't know where I would be right now," she says. "Having my daughter was the best thing that happened to me."

The Florence Crittenton School and the Early Learning Center have helped Jacqueline enormously. "Attending Florence Crittenton has helped me finish my education and become a better mother," she says. "Having my children in the Early Learning Center made my life much easier. I didn't have to worry about finding a babysitter for my children while I attended school."

Jacqueline hopes to go to college to become a Dental Assistant. "I plan to work hard to give my children a life I never had."

Her advice: "No matter what anybody says always follow your dreams. Everything and anything is possible!"