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The other day, I was conducting an interview when someone asked me a question I’ve been asked many times before:

“Why do you work for Persevere?”

My answer is always the same…because it’s personal.

When I first met our founder, Sean Hosman, I was at one of the lowest, most humiliating points in my life. I was incarcerated, assigned to clean in Central Office. That was my job…to clean. I wasn’t in a classroom or a TDOC staff member. I was just another woman in the system, wearing TDOC blues.

But in that moment, Sean didn’t see a uniform or a conviction. He saw a woman holding out a résumé and saying,

“I hear you have a criminal background…obviously, I do too. You have a software company, and I need a job.”

At the time, I thought that job was just about survival. I didn’t realize it would become the first step into my purpose.

While working for Sean’s for-profit company, Vant4ge, I threw myself into finding curriculum that could actually change lives. I was hustling every day to help build something bigger than any of us could fully see at the time. Then I came across Quincy Larson from freeCodeCamp. We were given permission to use their curriculum…a gift we’re still using six years later.

That’s how we began teaching Full Stack Development, the MERN stack, to individuals inside correctional facilities. Back then, we were a broke nonprofit with a bold vision and very few resources.

Sean had already dedicated his life to helping others, and through that mission, he helped me. Today, Persevere reaches youth, young adults, and adults both in facilities and in communities across the country. We offer more than just education. We’ve built wraparound support systems that include:

• Transitional housing

• Mental health services

• An employment team connecting graduates to real jobs

• Violence prevention initiatives

This work is not easy.

Funding is never guaranteed…not from federal, state, or private sources. Employers are facing their own uncertainties, and that impacts our ability to place graduates. But we keep pushing forward, because the mission matters.

So back to that question:

Why do I work for Persevere?

Because I am the people we serve.

I was the single mom with a felony conviction.

On SNAP.

Facing homelessness.

Too broke to even have a car to sleep in.

Mentally exhausted.

Battling addiction, trauma, shame, and suicidal thoughts.

Desperate to do better, but too broken to try.

Persevere was built to give Hope. Skills. Opportunity.

And even though I wasn’t a student in the program, it saved me.

This isn’t just a job ———— it’s my life’s calling.

Because somewhere out there, another woman is standing in her lowest moment, wondering if anyone still sees her.

At Persevere, we do.

That’s why I’m here.