Monica Wells

First of all, my faith is very important to me. At a very young age, I kind of knew who I was. I was always a connector - at 5 years old, I'm at church putting couples together, like Marty meet Lori, and they're still married to this day. My mom would always say, Monica's gonna be okay, and some days when I would hear that echo, it would feel lonely, but I know now that she just knew that there was a purpose put inside of me. I would say my mom, Hattie Brumfield, is my girl. She nurtured things in me to where I was always wise beyond my years, but she always taught me to care about those around me, and she modeled it. She never wavered on her faith. I see glimpses of her standing, washing dishes, singing Precious Lord, and I hear her saying Monica's gonna be okay, and some days when I feel like I'm not, I hear her voice and I'm able to keep going. She set the standard.

I have a really good close friend who always tells me, and I tell my daughter this every day: remember who God says you are. Because people and man will tell you every day that you're this, or you're that, or you're not this, or you need to work on this, but who does God say you are? I would say that's probably the best advice. Sometimes the best piece of advice to me is action. I remember there was a time in college when I owed something on my bill and I didn't understand how I was going to pay it. The next week it was paid, and one of the women who was a mentor for me at the church, Miss Elva Jones, had paid it. When I found out, she said, honey, we gotta get you through by any means necessary. You are special. She cared enough about me and she saw enough inside of me to make sure that those barriers were out of the way. That action spoke volumes to me.

Know your why. A lot of times if I'm giving interviews, I'll say tell me about your 5-year-old self. What was he or she like? What was the thing that those around you would say that you focus on the most? You'll see their heart shine through. Those things that people say that you're good at, and you just kind of look around like, I just baked a cake, it's not that big of a deal - no, this cake is the best thing I've ever had in my life. Those things that are inside of you are part of your purpose. Surround yourself with people that are going to nourish your purpose. Your village is very important. That old saying of tell me who you hang around, I'll tell you who you are, is very true. There's a story in the Bible about the man who couldn't walk, and his friends took him up to the roof and lowered him down to Jesus' feet. He was healed because of their faith. Those are the kind of people that I want. Every day is not that sunshine, so when you feel that way, who are those people that you can lean on? It's important to meet people where they're at. Embrace the families and communities, get to know them, get to understand them. I tell teachers that come from every small town in Nebraska, have you eaten in the communities in which you're working in? What is the stores like? Make sure you're part of the fabric of the community that you're working in. Give back, because if you're not preparing the people behind you, they're not leading. I gotta make sure that I inspire the next Monica. Faith for me is first, but also not being afraid to fail. Remember who you are, and in those days when you don't remember who you are, surround yourself with people who will remind you.

Politically, there's a lot of barriers that have been thrown in front of our families and our children, and I would say that opportunity gap gets wider and wider. The things about childcare that are happening right now, child subsidy, the financial crisis of some of that support that has been taken away - it affects everyone. It doesn't just affect the families that I'm supporting, it affects my family. When we think about teachers, some of the teachers are going through the same thing that the families are going through, and people don't understand that. There's families that come home sometimes and their lights aren't on, and there's teachers that come home some days and their lights aren't on. The biggest challenge is that it seems as though we're not putting families first, or the children first, when we're making decisions on a higher level. Those that are able to make those decisions and the different laws that go into effect - they are far removed, and it's hurting the people that need it the most. There's funds that we try to get through, but there's barriers with politics. We have families, a lot of our families here are Hispanic, so they've had a lot of their family members affected by ICE situations. Food is always a necessity, and housing, but we've been working hard to close that opportunity gap, and with the political climate right now, it just makes it a little bit more difficult.

I always tell my daughter, one day boy I'm gonna be rich, and I said we're rich now in the love around you. I would say compassion, faith, family, and grace are very important to me. I don't know if this is a value, but village - I believe in the village, taking care of one another. That's something that I live by. And temperance is something that I have really learned through being a Delta. The importance of it, having that level of self-restraint. Especially as a woman of color, I think it goes far beyond not wanting to be seen as the angry Black woman. It's about practicing some of that balance and that self-restraint, making sure that you think before you act, finding ways to be calm in the midst of the storm. I think that's important.