It's Rosa's Time

In her own words, from shadows to stars, Rosa's journey to Kansas City is a testament to the power of resilience and unwavering determination. We were deeply honored to have had the privilege of hearing WEN grad Rosa Fregosa's remarkable story at the 2024 WEN Annual Luncheon - It's My Time. Her journey exemplifies the indomitable spirit of perseverance, courage, and the relentless pursuit of dreams despite adversities. Rosa's inspiring narrative serves as a beacon of hope, reminding us all that with unwavering determination, even the darkest shadows can give way to the brightest stars. We invite you to read her story below and get inspired.

Hello, my name is Rosa Fregoso, and I feel very honored to have been offered the opportunity to be here to tell you what WEN means to me. For this, I will take you back in time and tell you about how I found them.

I moved to Kansas City, MO, six years ago, arriving on June 28, 2018. Before moving, I lived in Miami, FL, with my three kids. I was married for a long time to their dad, and while living with him, I was trying to get out of a very abusive marriage. I was married for 17 years. I am Mexican, and for a long time, I was living in the shadows like so many of us do, with no papers, in an abusive marriage, and being threatened by him to call ICE on me every time I tried to defend myself; he would tell me he would have me deported, and I would never see my kids again.

During this marriage, the person that I once was sort of died. I kept on going, and one day I got tired of living that way. I was able to get out of that marriage and was able to keep my kids with me, but I was inexperienced and wasn’t able to find a good job, so I had three jobs instead. I worked as a server at three different restaurants, just to be able to make ends meet, to be able to provide for my kids and survive. I always knew I didn’t want to struggle so much and miss my kids growing up, but I had to find a way to make a living. One of the many times I sought help, I searched online for assistance for single mothers, and I am a living testament that there aren’t many resources in Miami at all; somehow, I was able to find WEN. I emailed them, and I received an email from Mrs. Lynnette. She explained that they were local to Kansas City. She said not to give up and try to find something local, I did again and again, and I promise you, there were none.

That email was from sometime in 2016. After a long fight for custody of my kids, I was given the green light by a judge in 2018, and I moved here as soon as my kids finished their school year. I arrived at my brother’s house, but we were never truly welcomed there. While I was looking for a job and resources, someone at the Downtown Library told me about this program that helped women in need. I had completely forgotten about WEN by then.

I called, applied, and was lucky enough to have been given an opportunity to join the program. During this time, I had started working as a night manager at a cleaning company. I worked from 5 pm to 2 am, six days a week. Shortly after I started working, I had to move out of my brother’s house. I was able to find a small house for my two kids and me.

In one of our classes, Mrs. Lynnette came in and spoke to us, and somehow, she remembered me; I then realized, this was the place I had emailed two years prior; I was meant to get there somehow, someday. This was my time.

For five weeks, I went to work, came home, went to sleep, woke up at 6 am, took my kids to school, went to class, came back home, cooked, picked up my kids, ate with them, and went back to work; it felt like a never-ending cycle.

Both Mrs. Lynnette, Mrs. Tonia, or any of my classmates could tell you the many times I fell asleep during class, but I was determined not to drop out and with their help, I pulled through.

I can truly say, I felt the change in me week after week. I learned so many things, but the most important thing for me is that I learned who I was. Day after day, I was able to open up about all I’ve been through; we all did. Every woman in that class felt safe and was able to break down without feeling judged and most importantly, AFRAID.

In my case, I learned to speak out loud, to understand I had a voice, and I was worth being listened to. I did not know that, and I always felt like I didn’t deserve the air I breathed (that was my ex-husband’s doing).

I remember there were classes when we all would end up crying, and that was okay; each one of us went from strangers to sisters and more. It felt like a sanctuary.

For someone like me who had never felt safe in my own house, I was not used to talking, giving my opinion, or ideas. I remember when we worked on our resumes, I completely forgot to mention that I am bilingual, and someone pointed out I should add that to it, so I did. Then, Mrs. Lynnette saw the way I did; she said to bring that to my number one asset; I NEVER thought about the fact of being bilingual as an asset; it was never appreciated.

Little things like that felt like flickers that brightened my mind. I learned to value myself in all aspects, and it happened on a daily basis. Even when I would fall asleep, they let me do it because they knew I needed to rest, in order to go on.

I have always loved to write, but WEN was the oxygen that sparked the fire that helped me open up and speak my mind.

While I was working and attending classes, with the resume they helped me create, I dared to start applying for new jobs. I dreamed of finding a job that would allow me to spend more time with my kids, one like the one I always dreamed of finding in Miami and never did. Around that time, they told us to get ready for a job fair because there would be lots of opportunities there. Unfortunately, I had to work the same hours as the job fair. That did not stop two of my class friends from taking my resume and leaving it at some tables where they thought I could have an opportunity. Also, at the same time, Mrs. Tonia was doing her thing, networking, and sending our resumes to different companies she thought we would match.

Well, one company got bombarded with my name, job application, and resumes because the three of us, Mrs. Tonia, my friends at the job fair, and myself reached out to them.

I have to say one more thing that I know is very important and significant, when I was in Miami and I would apply to jobs and when I was lucky enough to get an interview, my desperation was such that I would end up crying. At every single interview I went to, I cried, I begged them to give me a chance. I don’t have to tell you; nobody ever called me back. I was a server for 6+ years at three different restaurants at the same time. I never had a day off, unless I was sick and I just couldn’t make it. And, and when I was lucky enough to have a ½ day off at each job that matched on the same day, it would be totally dedicated to my kids.

At WEN, we had mock interviews, and I remember my reviews, from the first one to the last one. It was so hard not to cry, but I went from “work in progress” to “she is very confident, and I would hire her”. I had never been called CONFIDENT in my whole life.

When I went to my interview at the one company that heard from me in all sorts of ways, I passed it with flying colors. I had four interviews in one day, and I even made one of the top managers from the company laugh. I had been told to be careful because if he didn’t like me, I was done.

As of today, every time I see him, he smiles because he became my boss on November 19, 2018. I have been working for Imperial PFS for almost six years; he is now a Regional Manager, and every now and then I see some of the four managers that interviewed me. I can truly say that I am a very happy human being there.

In February 2023, I won the Star Award for Excellence in the whole entire company, and I constantly get nominations for my performance at my job (these are sent by inside and outside customers).

This wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t gone through WEN’s doors. Finding myself has been a very long journey; I am still working on it, but for me, my life is divided between Before WEN and After WEN. It truly was a rite of passage in my life.

Thanks to WEN, I dared to dream and actually believe that I deserved good things to happen to me. Although I am not leaving things to the universe, I’ve worked hard and applied myself into making my life better.

Since WEN, I went back to school and got some credits in college. I stopped in 2020 for a thing that went around and stopped the world. But while holding a full-time job at work and at home. I went to Penn Valley, I took four classes and passed with straight A’s. I finished that semester with a 4.0 GPA and ended up in the Dean’s list.

I also found another program and started working with them. Through them, I became a Homeowner in November 2021, and I now belong to the Homeowners Committee for Habitat for Humanity KC.

And lastly, I found my passion again, dancing; I found a studio where I go almost every day and dance my woes away.

I truly believe that now, in my 50’s, I am the happiest I have ever been. I do have problems and worries, but I am no longer afraid of them; I now face them and strategically make plans on how to fix them.

I want to ask you, no, plead with you, that you take my story with you, and you realize the changes WEN made in just one life, my life, and there were so many of us in just that one class. They truly care for us; they follow up and reach out; they don’t close our files after we leave.

We need them, and they need you; I will always owe them everything, from the bottom of my heart; I will always be grateful. My journey in Kansas City started with them, and I’ve reached more goals here in five years and four months than I did in California and Miami together (24 years); thanks to them, in my mind, It's my time! The sky's the limit!!