The day of her high school graduation, Yesi and her son Xadrian wore matching caps and gowns. Her pink cap was decorated with two baby photos of Xadrian
and said, “Mommy did it!” while Xadrian’s smaller blue cap said, “Mami did it for me!” Yesi said her son is the biggest reason she graduated from high school.
“I was going through a hard time for a while and I kind of gave up on school
but then I was like, ‘you know what, I got to go to school. I have to go
somewhere after graduation,’” said Yesi, who is 18 years old. “I just had to put my mindset on school and finish it for my baby.”
Yesi found out she was pregnant because she started feeling sick. At first, she was worried she had COVID-19 but soon learned she was pregnant from a home pregnancy test. She was referred to New Moms by her doctor and was paired with a Doula during her pregnancy and New Moms Family Support Specialist, Precious, after the birth of her son. Yesi said Precious also helped motivate her to focus on school, sending her inspirational quotes and encouraging her to do her homework.
Throughout her pregnancy and parenthood journey, Yesi has had
the support of her coaches, family, and partner. She wants other young
moms to feel that same love that she’s felt.
“Know that you’re worth it,” Yesi said. “Even if you have a child, it doesn’t
mean that you’ve ruined your life. You’re good.”
Now that she has graduated, Yesi is looking towards the future. She wants to become a real estate agent and eventually own her own home. She recently started a handmade jewelry business and is using her artistic abilities to make money and save for real estate license classes.
