#TBT Stories – Hannah V.

Hannah V. completed CWEE’s program in 1983.

As one of eight children, Hannah remembers her mother always working to help support the family, and especially remembers her insistence that all the children learn to be independent.

Life was going well for Hannah until she became pregnant in 1972 while in college. Her boyfriend also was a student and did not want to get married. Hannah had her son, dropped out of school and went on welfare. She and her boyfriend did get married in 1974 and she got a low-paying job at a local bank.

Hannah continued to take courses to complete her degree and became involved in community and political work which gave her an opportunity to meet and interact with lawyers.

In 1981, Hannah became pregnant again, got divorced, and was without a well-paying job. For a while, Hannah lived with her family, had part-time work and some child support. But before long, the support payments stopped, and Hannah was forced to go on welfare again.

When her second child, Ahmed, was born, he had health problems and had the first of many operations at just three months old. Ahmed cried all the time, couldn’t hold down food, and wasn’t gaining any weight.

Hannah was still looking for work. She became severely depressed and started seeing a counselor who told her that her dream to someday become an attorney was unrealistic.

One night, unable to sleep, she turned on the TV At 3 a.m. and saw a public service announcement for CWEE. Hannah wrote down the number and enrolled the next day.

Her time at CWEE confirmed all the things Hannah knew about herself but was beginning to doubt, that she was intelligent, highly capable and skilled – but she was not working up to her potential.

“CWEE helped me to establish goals. The support system there was so important for me, and I was getting the strokes I needed every day, ” Hannah said.

CWEE arranged an interview for Hannah with the IRS and she got a job there one month after her CWEE graduation in May 1983.

Hannah enrolled in law school in 1984, finished the four-year program in just three years taking only night classes, and graduated from the University of Denver College of Law in 1988.