Interview with a BSP Parent Leader
Ofelia Jeronimo
Ofelia Jeronimo is a full-time janitor in Los Angeles and the mother of two children, who are currently in the 6th and 9th grades.
She is a SEIU-USWW member and became involved with BSP’s Parent University classes in 2015. Since then, she has also engaged in BSP’s Financial Capabilities, Health and Wellness, Green Janitor Education Programs.
As a Parent Leader for BSP, she supports programs by reaching out to fellow workers and SEIU-USWW members to let them know about classes, encouraging them to engage in the different activities and curriculum offered.
She feels that the BSP classes that she has completed have created a positive change for her family, saying that she “sees the positive impact that BSP courses and the knowledge has made” in her life.
Financial Skills for Mobility
Through BSP’s Financial Capabilities classes, she was able to learn financial skills and qualify for a $30,000 loan to get a car, which was made possible through a collaboration BSP has with SCE Credit Union for SEIU-USWW members. This method of transportation for her family has made it possible to take the children to school, pick them up, and also arrive at work each week.
Choosing Healthy Options
BSP’s “health classes have also been very good,” says Ofelia. “I learned that nutrition is important, and one must take care of their body. This knowledge also helps my children to be aware of what they should eat from an early age. To date, they are healthy, because we learned the importance of calories and the amount of sugar we consume.”
BSP Parent University classes
Parent and student engagement
With BSP’s Parent University classes, Ofelia learned how she can help support her children’s education by helping them navigate the school system, giving them educational opportunities to support academic success. She stated that her children are her “priority and is so grateful for them. The kind of leaders that make us see that what we can do for them is priceless.”
College Access
She also enjoyed attending a recent Parent University tour of USC, organized by BSP, stating: “What the USC panelist said - mental health is important and we must work with it - also stuck with me. Also, the parent sessions help us learn to motivate our children. The instructors (Parent University Coordinators) give us the perspective of their experiences and how to get ahead - as parents, it helps us to know about your experiences and to know the reality that my children will face. With these Parent University classes, we learn that we give our children the tools to get ahead and they must see if they want to take advantage of them.”
Sharing her knowledge with others
Overall, Ofelia enjoys BSP programs and feels that “all the coordinators of the BSP programs have been good, in the sense that they know what they are teaching, study and practice the content-they do not invent it. In order for the program to continue to be active, it is important to bring in new people to take these wonderful courses. New experiences like the trip to USC and having the panelist session with people from our own community helps fellow parents, and does us good. Every day you learn something different, and that's what I like about working with BSP.”
Ofelia believes that BSP programs motivate her as a person, saying: “I have learned a lot, now I can confidently use a computer and I believe I still have more to learn. I can and I will do it and I want my children to see that. I would like for them to say ‘my mother is sleep deprived but she is reading that book’, or ‘if she did it sleep deprived why not me?’, ‘my mother washing bathrooms as a janitor helped me because it was the way she provided for us’, and that is what I want my children to see. If I have to wait to see the fruits, I hope and want to see my children in college and BSP helps us a lot to achieve that.”
Life as a working mother
As a mother, Ofelia feels that she has learned to view “education in another way. It's not just taking my kids to school and that's it, it motivates me to find activities for them and that they like what they are doing.-- That they see that it is not only going and participating, but going with the willingness to learn.”
For her colleagues who work in the property service industry, Ofelia wants them to learn and benefit from the programs as well. She works as a BSP Parent Leader because she “wants other parents to also learn.” and that “working with BSP is nice - it feels good and staff always makes you feel welcomed. Let BSP’s good work continue, along the way they present workers and families with opportunities.”