Principal Certification & continuing to beat the odds

Attracting Blessings to Continue to Beat the Odds, Overcome, Thrive & Contribute to the Redesigning of our Education System

As a high school “dropout,” labeled at risk & special aid, I am one of the few that has been lucky enough to obtain a PhD. Adversity seems to have been my middle name, and while I faced many challenges from severe mental and physical health concerns to hardships and traumas worsened by recurrent housing insecurity, I have always stubbornly refused to fully give up.

Though my journey to obtain health care justice is still ongoing, and while my living situation continues to be an uncertain gamble, I am glad to have been accepted into the UTEP Principal Certification program. Classes will start at the end of the month, and though I have secured August’s roof for my service dog, I realistically am not going to be able to afford my tuition, books, and transportation fees.

My odds were never realistic, and I still always found just enough faith to draw the right people at the right time, to cheer me on and help along the way. While I diligently continue to work on a documentary and book about beating the odds, I also refuse to believe that my journey in education is over because I could not get it funded.

My understanding of how to navigate the challenges and hardships of a fast-changing world feels purposeful enough for me to passionately desire to one day become a school administrator, to better comprehend how to adapt to undesired policies, and to eventually expand my experience in education, leadership, social justice, and health care, to creating an educational system that prioritizes the well-being of students, with a collaborative communal approach, over a predatorial competitive system.

Though my class fees should revolve around $4000 to $5000 this semester, it feels safer for me to aim at much more than that for books, transportation, and potentially to start planning for semesters to come as this is a 2-year program ($20,000) that will also require standardized tests to be paid for.

While very few might be able to spare change for such a "privileged" endeavor while most struggle to have their basic needs met, sharing this fundraiser and taking the time to glance at my story still feels like a priceless blessing.

Thank you for considering sharing my story with this fundraiser on all platforms.

With Deep Gratitude,

Josette Pelatan (& Milo, retired service dog)