She Says: Meet Ivanka

Ivanka was juggling two jobs and taking ESL classes when she first heard about a program that could help her fulfill her dream of going to college. “I was working in a childcare center,” she remembers. “And everyone there was encouraging me to go to college. Then a man came to talk to our ESL class about the Gateway Program at the City Colleges of Chicago.”

With the assistance of Gateway, which helps adult students transition successfully to college-level courses and embark on career pathways that lead to good jobs, Ivanka started taking classes in child development. “My first class at Truman College was about safety, health, and nutrition, and it was the hardest for me! But I was excited to learn.”

Returning to school has literally paid off for Ivanka: “Before I went to college, I was on minimum wage. I think when I started it was $7.25. But they increased it because I have taken so many classes. The degree will help me get a better job.”

Women Employed is leading the effort to implement programs like Gateway that help adult students transition to college — in Illinois and across the nation. This fall, the new early childhood education bridge program we’ve developed with City Colleges will begin, helping students like Ivanka get the college-level classes or training they need to good jobs in childcare.