Dreams Are Possible celebrates largest graduating class
BLOOMINGTON — The adult students of Dreams Are Possible celebrated their completion of life and work skills courses Thursday night at Second Presbyterian Church in downtown Bloomington.
For some, it was their first graduation.
Affording the opportunity to celebrate a graduation is a privilege difficult to describe for Mary Campbell, program director for the nonprofit training center based at 1311 W. Olive St., Bloomington.
"It's — there aren't words ... to see the transformation and have their families see the transformation of their moms or sisters or aunts or whatever. It's really powerful," Campbell said.
Each 10-week class hosts a maximum of 10 women and non-binary individuals who receive training in essential skills like budgeting, resume building, interview skills and a variety of others, tailored to the class's needs, by experienced educators who are women, Campbell said.
Thursday's celebration for the class of 2024 drew the most graduates and their friends and family members. This was the first time in the program's five years that it featured four 10-week courses, one for each season of the year, said Nancy Duffy, the agency's student relations coordinator. That's double the amount of classes offered in the past, she said.
The size of the crowd Thursday night caused more than a little apprehension.
"It was a little overwhelming when we were planning for the event, you know, because we had 170 people respond" to the invitation to attend, Duffy said.
The ultimate goal for Dreams Are Possible is to empower participants with community and skills with "the knowledge and tools to grow their confidence and prepare them for both living wage jobs and dignity in an inclusive workplace," according to its mission statement.
"I think what can happen to some people after high school is that they just get stuck," Duffy said, "and they get stuck in poor paying jobs without benefits and a life that's driven by crisis to make ends meet."
Guinevere Potter has worked in warehouse logistics most of her adult life, she said. But, earlier this year, she was thinking of trying to move to a better paying field, Potter said.
"I wanted to see about possibly doing something new, and, like, getting my foot in the door with like a trade or something like that," she said.
So, Potter convinced her sister Johanna Norman to accompany her in joining Dreams Are Possible.
"I think it was just really cool that it was women to women, and it just felt like it was very empowering," Norman said.
The staff and volunteers at Dreams Are Possible created an environment that was welcoming and inviting, Norman said. "Knowing that people want you to succeed and want to help you get there, is really just warming," she said.
Affording a place for people to grow, whatever their background or means, gives them a chance to create positive relationships and community, she said, a large portion of their goal.
"Twice a week, they can come to be with us, and they can exhale, and they can learn, and they can be empowered to consider other possibilities" besides their current situation, Duffy said.
That can be beyond traditional education, too. "So much of what we do is about building their self-esteem and their confidence, and that — whatever it is they're dreaming, they can do," said instructor Lisa Manalisay of Decatur.
Manalisay has been educating in many capacities since the mid 1980s, and she has seen all manner of folk succeed when given the opportunity, she said.
"Whatever it is you want to do, it's in you," Manalisay said.
Contact D. Jack Alkire at (309)820-3275.
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