Rida Ehsan

"I thought I would never finish high school and work a decent job..."

By #UnionProud Stories

June 18^th, 2019

By Rida Ehsan

With the support of my union, I was able to overcome many obstacles to earn my bachelor’s degree with cum laude honors while working full time as a paraprofessional and raising three children.

As a child, my dream was to become a teacher. I used to pretend play with dry erase markers on windows at home in my imaginary classroom. When I was set up in an arranged marriage at age 16 and started my family at age 18, my dream was blurred out. I thought I would never finish high school and work a decent job.

My mother, who is a paraprofessional, encouraged me to get my GED and meet the eligibility requirements to become a paraprofessional. When I started working five years ago, I had only a high school degree. I had two young kids. I started with the lowest salary. I wasn’t eligible for financial aid, so I thought I would never go to college.

My mother told me about the UFT’s Career Training Program. I found out that the career training program would pay for six credits every semester. And, if I maintained a certain GPA, I could apply for early release from my school depending on my course schedule. I was able to get two and a half hours of early release time per week, which allowed me to manage my time to do the academics and meet my responsibilities to my family.

In 2016, I became pregnant. I made sure to go to a UFT maternity workshop, and it helped me balance my maternity leave with my work and school schedule.

I just graduated with my bachelor’s in education from Touro College. Now, I’ll make the maximum salary a paraprofessional can make. I feel like Superwoman. I tell everyone that if you’re determined and motivated and ambitious, nothing will stop you. I did it because I had a very supportive union.

Working with special needs children and seeing their success have motivated me. It’s made me feel very proud of what I’ve accomplished. I’m planning to become a special education teacher and looking at getting my master’s degree now. This is just the beginning for me.

Many peers, co-workers, family and friends are asking me how I did it. I tell them, “I have a VERY strong, supportive union that supports me so much.”