At the age of thirty-one, with three small children and pregnant with a fourth, Cheryl Garrett's marriage ended.

Sixteen years have now passed since she gave birth to her forth child leaving her with a newborn baby, boys seven and five years of age and another two-year-old daughter. Because she didn't get any child support and had no other source of income, she was forced to go on welfare to support her family. She had a grade 12 education.

Throughout those years, Cheryl provided a loving home for her four children and as soon as she was able to supplement her welfare income with odd jobs, she did. She would often take her children with her while she cleaned homes all over Nanaimo.

Although it was often a struggle, she managed to provide her children with a loving home, a loving parent and strong values. They learned to value a consistent work ethic and they also learned how to, not only survive, but to have a rich life with only meagre resources. Since she couldn't afford a car, Cheryl relied on public transit to take her and her children to parks, recreation facilities and summer camps.

As the children grew and matured, Cheryl weaned herself off the welfare roles and pursued her dream to become a teacher. She secured a student loan and registered in a liberal arts program at Malaspina University-College and later completed a second degree in Education. This took a total of seven years.

With her degrees behind her, Cheryl had business cards printed with the words "I love to teach" boldly emblazoned on the bottom and off she went from school to school to introduce herself to principals.

For the next few years, Cheryl was a substitute teacher in both elementary and secondary schools in Nanaimo and surrounding cities. Finally, she received her first contract teaching at the elementary level and, for the past two years, she has taught English at Ladysmith Secondary School and Woodlands Secondary.

Widely praised as an outstanding teacher by her students, parents and colleagues, Cheryl sits on the school district's professional development committee this year

Three of her four children have graduated from Woodlands Secondary School. One son was the student council president, two had lead roles in the school's musical productions, and all have been on school athletic teams. Her youngest daughter is currently in grade 11. Throughout their school years, Cheryl has attended all of her children's games and events. She is their strongest cheerleader.

Although life has been tough at times, Cheryl Garrett has dreamed dreams, risen above personal challenges that could have overwhelmed many, set high but achievable goals and worked consistently hard to reach them. In the process, she became an independent professional, an excellent parent, a consummate teacher and a role model for single moms everywhere.

On another topic, whether you are a single parent or live in a two-parent family, I encourage you to check out our student WebQuest at www.nhero.org. I'm sure you'll find it an exciting exercise to complete as a family.

Designed for classrooms and families, the WebQuest will lead you and your children through an easy to follow process that will result in you finding Neighbourhood Heroes in your family, community and perhaps school or workplace. In the second stage, you will be encouraged to do something as a family that would qualify all of you as Neighbourhood Heroes.

If you are interested, please get in touch with me at bill@nhero.org. I'd love to follow your progress.