Ms. Raquel Calhoun is a risk taker who visualized a dream and realized it. Transitioning from working in a conventional setting, she embraced her entrepreneurial spirit and now works in her kitchen as the owner of Calhoun Custom Creations LLC, a home-based customized bakery and event boutique.

Ms. Toyolene Wallace is an exemplification of the definition of self-empowerment. She knows what the obstacles to success are. She also knows how to overcome them… in her words, with “fight, focus and faith.”

Ms. Kareema Washington’s realization of success embodies the principles of the Buffalo Educational Opportunity Center (BEOC). Noting she “needed guidance” when enrolled as a young mother, Ms. Washington says BEOC instilled in her a sense of confidence that motivated her to achieve.

Reverend Tanya Spencer's achievements are testament to the values of the Buffalo Educational Opportunity Center (BEOC). Her accomplishments not only personify self-empowerment but the spirit to mentor others to strive toward the realization of their own dreams.

Ms. Mandy Ferrini is an incredible representation of the Buffalo Educational Opportunity Center’s (BEOC’s) mission of self-empowerment and lifelong learning.  Ms. Ferrini was a single parent, coping with her son’s need for open-heart surgery, at the same time delaying her own reconstructive surgery from a serious work injury.  She is a domestic violence survivor and an entrepreneur who lost her business due to arson.  Through it all, Ms. Ferrini not only persevered but thrived. 

Ms. Marlyce Godoy credits the Buffalo Educational Opportunity Center (UBEOC) for her “…new beginning”.  Ms. Godoy was born in Belize and came to the United States when she was six years old. Although she was raised outside New York City, she decided to attend college at the University at Buffalo. She dropped out of college after becoming pregnant and raised her daughter as a single mother while receiving public assistance and working at a local restaurant.

Mr. Donald Paulk was 11 years old when his father passed away at the age of 34.  As one of 11 children, Mr. Paulk learned to deal with life’s hardships early in life while growing up in the housing projects of Buffalo, NY.  As a child, he sang in a group called the Energetics; and as a teenager he was a member of a street gang.

At five years old, living in segregated Alabama in the 1960’s, Mr.  James Simmons witnessed the death of his father by the hand of a stranger. In 1971 Mr. Simmons and his mother moved to Buffalo to live with family up north.

Ms. Charmaine Leonard struggled raising three children as a single parent on Social Services. She had just received her High School Equivalency from UBEOC when she fell ill and then battled a debilitating disease for over a decade. In 2008, upon regaining her health, she returned to UBEOC uncertain about her future. She returned, she says, because “EOC was a welcoming place where I could find my self-esteem.”

Ms. Vilma Quinones has internalized her mother’s mantra and perspective on life: You must feed yourself and realize that food rots if it stays on the shelf uneaten.

Mr. Tedros Teklzghi is a testament to the adage, “hard work pays off.” An Eritrean refugee when he came to the United States in 1991, he wholeheartedly embraced and now embodies the American Dream.

Ms. Susan D. Bentley-Camizzi is a wonderful example of how the UBEOC helps provide a foundation for further education and life success.