An inspiring story of overcoming obstacles to receive her CDA.
By Safia Mohammad
The reason I wanted to get my Child Development Associate (CDA) certificate was to learn how to help children and how I could benefit them professionally. It was a difficult process, but I was determined to reach my goal. Some of the factors that made it a really difficult process were my limited English, my eight children, and the birth of my son during this process. That was hard for me, but I received a lot of help from Patty Scott. This was our process: I would write my assignments in Somali, my daughter would help me translate them into English and Patty would check the grammar. She pushed me when I felt like giving up and she played a big role in me receiving my CDA certificate. Also, my daughters helped me write my papers in English and helped me find the child-related books from the library.
"The reason I wanted to get my Child Development Associate (CDA) certificate was to learn how to help children and how I could benefit them professionally. I am so happy that I reached my goal."
In addition, I received help from my friends at work, Sandra, Adrianna, and Veronica and also the CDA Council for speeding up my paperwork. I wanted to complete the observation before my son was born. We completed the observation on December 22, and my son was born December 27, 2017. The process seemed fun with the help from my friends. I am so happy that I reached my goal.
I want to thank Patty, Maryam, Amina, Sandra, Adrianna, Veronica and Centro de la Familia for contributing to my happiness.
Read more about our Child Development Associate (CDA) program.