Veronica Lara

As a child growing up in Mexico, my goal was to become a teacher. I helped my mom take care of my siblings, which sparked my love for childcare and education. To this day, I love working with children and enjoy advocating for everyone to treat others how they would like to be treated.

Because I went to school and graduated from high school in Mexico, my diploma didn’t qualify in the United States. So, after moving here, I had to earn my GED to get a job. I used Barton Community College's Center for Adult Education to earn my diploma. The experience was great — from the facilities to the staff, everything was wonderful. 

After I’d earned my GED, an opportunity arose to be a bus paraeducator for School District 428 in Great Bend. Since it was always my dream to work with kids, I took it and have loved it ever since.

To become qualified for the job, I completed online courses that taught me how to prepare for emergency situations and handle different scenarios on the bus. I also have wonderful coworkers who help me learn new things all the time.

The best part about the job, though, is caring and working for kids. It’s also rewarding to know that I’m doing what I dreamt I would do when I was younger: help children.

My career goals are to keep improving and to hopefully continue growing with the school district. I love to learn daily from my experiences.

The advice I have for anyone interested in this career field is to follow your heart. At the end of the day, that’s what will be the most fulfilling.