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Elizabeth “Betty” (Robles) Jimenez ’03, ’17 MA, the eldest of five children, is grateful for all the assistance she received to complete her history degree. “I had two things going for me,” she says. “I had the grades, and I had the financial need, so I received Pell grants in addition to scholarships.”

Jimenez didn’t contemplate being a teacher until life’s trajectory made her pivot. She was working within Institutional Advancement at the Mount when her first son, Benjamin, was born a little over a decade ago. She noticed he was slow to reach numerous milestones, but it wasn’t until he was five that he was diagnosed with dyslexia.

Jimenez educated herself about his condition and how to best help him. Along the way, she came to a startling revelation: her education and comfort level at being an advocate with health care professionals gave her advantages that she felt many from her community lack. “These parents need more services,” says Jimenez, “but they don't know how to navigate these situations. That's why my education is such a gift. My time at the Mount was life-changing in so many ways.”

Her zeal for advocacy led Jimenez to make a mid-career move to become a special education teacher, so she pursued her education credentials at the Mount. Leaving her former position in the summer of 2021, Jimenez is now at Bryson Avenue Elementary with her working with other teachers for two years to hone her teaching skills.

It’s also vitally important to Jimenez to help her students’ parents.  “It’s empowering to tell parents there's nothing cognitively wrong with their child; they just learn differently.” The kids need support, too. “They’re constantly saying, ‘I’m not good at this,’” says Jimenez, “to which I reply, ‘You’re not good at it yet.’”

Jimenez is extremely grateful for the scholarship she received as she pursued her education credentials at the Mount. “Thank you for supporting me in my pursuit to make a difference in the lives of these children and these parents. I love my job; I made the right choice.”

Note: A version of this article first appeared in the 2022 President’s Report.