American mom who had daughter at 18 helps her reach dream college 18 years later

Jeanice Perez had her daughter Jordyn when she was just 18 years old. She knew at the time that she wanted her daughter to have a life different from her own impoverished upbringing in Las Vegas. "Being poor was just kind of the air we breathed," Jeanice recalled. "Nobody talked about it openly; it was just the way things were."

Jordyn is now 18 and preparing to attend her dream college, New York University, to study biology. For Jeanice, the journey from an 18-year-old mother to a mother helping her daughter achieve this goal has been about more than just financial stability. It has been about breaking a cycle of poverty and creating a better future for her daughter.

When she became pregnant at 18, Jeanice was unsure of what the future held. She admitted to feeling guilty 18 years later for bringing Jordyn into the world in poverty. However, rather than allowing that guilt to define her, she used it as motivation to provide her daughter with opportunities she never had.

Jeanice began saving for Jordyn's education, starting with small amounts of money and investing consistently over time. She emphasized that the "right time" to start saving was never going to come, and that it was important to begin with whatever resources you had available.

Years of planning and saving finally paid off when Jordyn received an acceptance letter from New York University. The moment was emotional for both mother and daughter, but for Jeanice, it represented the culmination of her efforts to create a better life for her daughter.

Jeanice has since moved from Las Vegas to New York to work as a creator, sharing her story online to show that a mother-daughter relationship doesn't have to be toxic and that a challenging beginning doesn't determine the future. She is proud of the person her daughter has become and is working towards returning to a career as a high school teacher.