LEWISTON – Valerie Elie’s life is centered on school, work and family. She doesn’t have a lot of time to herself, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.

For a young woman who never really expected to be in college, Val is definitely enjoying her freshman classes at Central Maine Community College. She finished her first-semester work in child development and sociology “fairly well,” but doesn’t remember her grade-point average. It doesn’t matter. She’s more focused on what she is learning than what the final grades are.

This semester, Val is continuing her required course schedule, taking classes in speech and in language and literacy for children. “I like these classes a lot better than my last two,” Val said, getting comfortable with her routine and what is expected of her. She’s intrigued by the subjects of her current classes because she’s learning not only to teach children to speak and read, but also to understand “when they’re ready to learn it.”

Val fits classes around her full-time job, happy to get all the overtime she can manage.

A hectic schedule and heavy workload reflect a lifestyle she shares with her parents. Her mother, who graduated from the University of Southern Maine last May, is a registered nurse; her dad owns his own carpet installing business. Their busy schedule means that Val sometimes has to pick up her brothers from school, but she doesn’t mind.

Her parents have helped her with some of her college bills and car payments, so she’s eager to pay them back however she can.

– Judith Meyer

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