What's the difference between having a dream and making the dream come true? Hard work and perseverance. Wanda Smith always wanted to be a1, but sometimes meeting life's demanding realities can mean a dream2.
Smith, a mother of three, had to care for her mom, 3her family responsibilities, she took jobs as a bus monitor and gatekeeper for Brenham Independent School District in Texas. The time was4for her. But rather than let her dream die, at the age of 37, with the5of her husband, she added night classes to her6. Nine years on, she7graduated with a bachelor's degree from Sam Houston State University.
Smith's story came full circle when she was8as a first-grade teacher back at Brenham Elementary School. 9, her mom and beloved sisters didn't live to see her accomplishment, but she knows they would have been10of her. "When I stand in the front of my classroom, I know I am 11my dream finally, " Smith said during a show celebrating Teachers' Day.
During the pandemic, as some of her students12to take up distance learning, Smith stepped up to help them. She risked her life to deliver schoolwork to students to ensure that the learning could be13as smoothly as possible, which really14her students and their parents.
It's no wonder Smith's kids15her. In a special surprise ceremony, they shouted their16and held up big colorful signs17their love. Smith's life is an example as well as a (n)18for us. With great determination and19, she graduated from cleaning classrooms to20classrooms.
