Hope in Bloom: Myrna’s Story

Meet Myrna, a CWEE alumna who began right at the beginning! Myrna enrolled in CWEE services soon after we opened our doors in 1982. At the time, Myrna was a single mother of three living in the Westwood housing projects. She had just left a physically and emotionally abusive marriage and was navigating life as a newly single mother. Each day brought a new challenge, from navigating an unfamiliar living situation and figuring out how to financially support her family, to fighting against the negative beliefs she developed from her ex-husband’s abuse.

One day, Myrna’s housing mentor at the development she was living in mentioned a new program in Denver. She handed Myrna a flyer for an organization called Colorado Women’s Employment and Education and said “I think you should check this program out, because you do not belong here in these projects.” Myrna felt inspired and hopeful that she could change her situation, so she went to CWEE to learn more and begin the program.

CWEE was originally modeled after the National Women’s Education and Employment (NWEE) program, which was started by Lupe Anguiano in San Antonio, Texas. Lupe spent time working with many anti-poverty programs, and during that time, she recognized that women who were working within the home to raise their families had honed a broad skillset from volunteer work, serving in their children’s classrooms, and more. She had a vision of helping women catalyze those skills into careers and off of public benefits.

“On her own, Anguiano officially established NWEE in 1978. The project provided women a three-week program in attaining job-related skills, such as interviewing, employment goals, and assertiveness. Afterwards, they were placed in on-the-job training, enrolled in academic courses, or given jobs. These activities were all coupled with weekly follow-up contacts with the NWEE staff, most of whom had also been welfare recipients. In addition, NWEE ensured that women were hired in such jobs as construction work and welding, which paid higher salaries than ‘women’s’ jobs.” (Texas State Historical Association, 1995).

Myrna recalls when she began her CWEE journey, saying “Back then, you had to dress for success when you attended the program. It was a three-week program, and at the time I only had one pair of slacks and three shirts. I wore those pants every single day! I went into the program pretty beaten down. But CWEE encouraged me, let me know that I was still human, and instilled in me the belief that I deserved better. They helped me get my self-esteem back.”

One of Myrna’s most impactful memories from her time in the program was the “CWEE circles”. She shares, “All the women would make a big circle, and everyone would take turns standing in the middle. As you stood there, everyone would say things they liked about you. This was huge in helping me get my self-esteem back. I thought to myself, ‘I can do this! Why am I still listening to my ex-husband and believing what he said?”

During her time at CWEE, Myrna’s feelings about and view of herself started to open up. As Myrna slowly rebuilt confidence in herself, she began to dream about what was possible for herself and her family. In the early 80s, culture said it was out of the norm for women to want careers in fields like construction or engineering. But CWEE said ‘You can do this! And we’ll help you figure out how.’ Myrna recalls that “All the other girls in the program with me wanted to be a secretary, work in banking, or other more traditional ‘women’s jobs’. I was the only non-traditional person in my group. There weren’t many opportunities for women like me. I wanted to work with my hands, but I wasn’t sure exactly how.”

With CWEE’s support, Myrna went on to access education and skills training to teach her what she needed to thrive in this line of work. Myrna went to school to learn how to fix fax machines when they became a staple in every office. She also worked in a sheet metal factory and a furniture factory. Myrna’s favorite job was at CoorsTek, where she worked operating the kiln for ten years. She would load the kiln with bowls and other scientific materials, where they would be fired for a day and a half before they were unloaded and ready to put into use.

Since that day she first walked through CWEE’s doors, with great bravery and resilience, Myrna wrote a new story of hope. She moved out of the projects and into good low-income housing that gave her and her family a chance to begin again. She met and married a wonderful man who showed her so much healing love in the years they shared together before he passed away. And with grit and determination, she charted a course as a woman engineer in a male-dominated field.

All these years later, Myrna still has fond memories of her time at CWEE. She recalls “I remember during the program, I went to CWEE to look at some documents on the micro-film. There was a staff member, Laurie Harvey, who I saw while I was there that day. We were talking and she was so helpful and supportive, and she encouraged me to see a counselor for some extra support. The people at CWEE were so genuine and they never looked down on you.”

Today, Myrna is retired, but her experience at CWEE is never far from her mind. She keeps up on CWEE news, thinks often of the women who are going through the program now, and shared her excitement that CWEE now serves fathers as well. Myrna hopes her story can inspire our current career seekers to be hopeful that change is possible, and to be strong in applying themselves to make that possibility a reality. We are so proud of what Myrna has accomplished and feel lucky to have played a small part in her amazing story all those years ago. CWEE’s legacy of impact has continued and expanded over the last 43 years, and we are so grateful to every participant who choose to partner with us in their journey to a new beginning.