1. Skip to content

Success Story: Paw

Read and hear a story about a woman who achieved her goal of learning English, finding a job, and buying a house. Learn about the new goals that she has for her life and her family.

Listen to Paw's Success Story

If you do not see the audio player above MP3 file or flash audio.

Read Paw's Success Story


Hi. My name is Paw. I am a refugee. I moved to the United States about five years ago. I came with my family. My husband and I both wanted jobs. It was difficult for me to get a job because I did not speak English.

I went to school during the day to learn English. I took my English papers home and studied them at night. My goal was to learn enough English to get a job.

I went to school every day for one year. After that, I started applying for jobs. It took some time, but finally I got a job at a pizza shop. It took me one hour to get to work from my house by bus. But I was happy to have a job.

My husband also got a job. We wanted to save our money so that we could buy a house. Our apartment was too small for our family. Our goal was to work hard and keep our jobs so that we could buy a house as soon as possible.

My supervisor liked me because I was a hard worker. I made the pizzas. I did not know enough English to talk to customers. My supervisor gave me all the work hours I wanted because I was a good employee. It was good to have more hours because I could save more money.

After three years of working and saving money, my husband and I bought our first house. It is small, but it is wonderful. We have more room for our family.

I started going to school again. I want to improve my English so that I can talk to customers at the pizza shop. Someday I want to become the pizza store manager.

I also have a goal to become a U.S. citizen. Soon I will start taking a citizenship class to help me prepare for the test.

My husband and I have an important long-term goal. Our goal is to give our children a good life. We want to show them what hard work looks like. Hard work is important if you want to achieve your goals.