Loving, persevering, hardworking, patient, empathetic, humble, strong, nurturing, responsible, loyal and forgiving can all describe a woman.
Add to that a woman that excels in juggling her career, education, personal life and family while sometimes facing adversity - and you've got a good mother.
Marlen Guzman is a prime example.
The 33-year old came to America from Mexico as a child and initially struggled assimilating into the culture and learning English.
Life grew more difficult when she became a teenage mother, giving birth to twins at age 15 and delaying her high school graduation. She endured 15 years and three attempts at applying for college, multiple immigration requirements, and even had to obtain her high school diploma a second time due to a lack of accreditation at her first school.
Guzman got teary-eyed at a recent Athena Society Luncheon that honored her and 14 other woman as she recalled her experiences and talked about her sons to the prestigious group of professional women. This year, 15 recipients - including nine mothers - were awarded grants ranging from $1,500 to $2,000 totaling at $24,000.
But she is still determined to get her college degree no matter how long it takes.
"It's a mindset, you cannot give up," she said, "My boys are my walk and my foundation. They keep me sane through it all."
She loves being a mother and credits her children for making her the strong woman she is today.
Through her challenges, Guzman realized her true passion - helping other immigrants as an advocate, translator, and life motivator. She uses her passion as the Client Center Coordinator for Emergency Care Help Organization (ECHO) in Brandon.
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Latanya Parker shares this same tenacity as a student pursuing her nursing degree at HCC, a full time employee in a medical facility, and a mother raising six children, two of whom are her own along with three siblings and a cousin for whom she is caretaker.
The 28-year-old assumed this workload after the loss of both her mother and father, but never let her tough circumstances stand in the way of her dreams.
She makes it look easy and states with confidence that she is certain to excel in her future endeavors.
"It's really their smiles that keep me going," said Parker, "with that I can accomplish anything."
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Athena Society president Doretha Edgecomb emceed the luncheon and presented the awards along with president-elect Betty Castor. The program is named in honor of Phyllis P. Marshall, a long-standing member and past president whose career embraced and advocated for students pursuing their educational and career dreams
It also featured inspirational words from attorney and motivational speaker, Patricia Russell-McCloud.
She brought the house down at the Centre Club on Thursday (May 3) with her touching reminders of how wonderful and important women are to society.
"Someone asked: What's better than wisdom? Women. And then the question was asked what's better than a good woman? And the answer is - nothing," said McCloud.
"I am suggesting on a scale of 1 to 10, and 10 is high, woman is at least 550."
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Parker will take a break from her pursuit of a nursing degree today to relax and enjoy quality time at home with her family. While she is not aware of any particular Mother's Day plans, she is almost sure there will be a surprise for her.
Mother's Day is a big deal in Guzman's family and in Mexican culture where it's more of a thoughtful gesture as opposed to a stream of gifts, and it is celebrated twice - always on May 10th and, like it's observed in America, annually on the second Sunday of May.
Guzman will pause from to let her children cater to her by cooking, cleaning and whatever else she wants, and plan a family vacation to her home of Mexico.
But after today these mothers will return to chasing their dreams, pursuing their education and making a better life for their kids. They'll do so with the help of a career assistance grant from the Athena Society.
Contact Monique Welch at mwelch@tampabay.com
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