Mother of the Year Essay My name is Loida Garza, and I want to tell you why alley’s house has changed my life.  I dropped out of high school in my freshman year and became pregnant soon after.  My mom kicked me out of our apartment, so I moved in with my boyfriend.   We got married when I turned 16.  Our son Jacob was born two months pre-mature.

I saw alley’s house in a news story on TV.  The story was about how alley’s house has programs for teen moms like me to help finish school and be mentored.  So I looked it up online and called.  I’ve been coming to alley’s house for five months now, and it’s so much more than I expected. Several times a week I pack up my boys and we take the 3-hour train ride to alley’s house from Fort Worth where we live.   I come all the way from Fort Worth because alley’s house inspires me to believe in myself, and to create a better life for my kids.

Before alley’s house I wasn’t going anywhere.  I was just another teen mother statistic.  Now I have hopes and dreams.  I want to be a nurse and work with premature babies. 

I want to be there for mothers going through what I went through with my premature son.  Your support of alley’s house supports my ability to achieve my dream and the dreams of other teen mothers.

-Loida Fernandez-Garza         May 2009