Resilience in Action: From Trauma and Poverty to Purpose and Prosperity
- Keri Mae
- 7 days ago
- 7 min read
It’s maybe relevant to start at the beginning. I came from what appeared to be a normal home on the outside. We were well off, my parents were prominent in our community and well liked. But behind closed doors, it was rife with drug addiction, violence, and neglect.
I did everything the way I was "supposed to". I got married, got a bachelor’s degree in education, had children, and gave up my career to care for them. But under the surface, things were not right.
I married a man who was, like me, wrestling with a lot of internal demons. He was apologetically violent and sexually deviant—and I was a sucker for all of it.
At one point in our marriage, I made the conscious choice not to file a police report because I knew that people only get worse in prison, and I only wanted him to get better. I was painfully codependent. I stayed because I believed the trope that love could conquer all.
But it all came to a head when I lost my father to cancer. He was the only safe man in my life, and I was beyond devastated. I was suicidal. I enrolled in therapy and there confronted the many demons that were keeping me stuck in limiting and damaging spaces. After years of intense therapy, I separated from my husband, and he cut off all contact with me and our three children, the youngest of which was 10 months old. I was drowning and had zero familial support.
Unfortunately, because we were still married, I didn’t qualify for most government assistance programs. So I worked part time from home to help support us. I made less than $10,000 a year during that time (2018–2021). It was incredibly painful.
I stood in food lines on Sundays as restaurants handed out their leftovers from the previous week. I joined a communal garden so I could learn how to grow my own food while I wore my youngest on my back. I sold oranges for a friend’s orchard so I could get free produce. I learned how to repair clothing and became an expert on free community resources!
The Kindness of Strangers
Despite the hardships, I made some of the most beautiful relationships of my life during this time.
The deli man at the grocery store knew us by name and would give my children “samples” of cheese and meats.
The produce lady would stuff those Manager’s Special dollar bags with fresh produce of our choosing. (We are still in touch to this day!)
One man at the Sunday food handouts would set aside special desserts just for me and my kids so that if I was running late, we wouldn’t miss out.
Another person anonymously left $1,000 on my doorstep with a note that said, “You are an incredible mother, and you inspire me every day. Hang in there.”
Others gave my boys their hand-me-down clothes or toys, or sponsored us for Sub for Santas.
Gaining Confidence
As years went on, my confidence grew, and I was able to contribute more and more back into the community.
I became so involved in the PTA that I was nominated to be the president (though I turned it down). I worked tirelessly to get abuse-prevention training to children in Provo School District. I spoke at university conferences and in undergraduate courses on my work in child development and trauma.
I began teaching classes, managing projects, and spearheading fundraisers for the communal garden that had healed me and my children. I tripled its participation, built infrastructure onto the land, and raised enough money to build a greenhouse! The space was so beautiful that people would ask to take engagement and family photos in it. My work there was featured in the Salt Lake Tribune, and the garden became a sanctuary amongst the concrete jungle of downtown Provo.
Divorce and a New Chapter
By 2021, I finally had enough courage to file for divorce. It was a big decision—not knowing if the courts would support me and the safety of my children. But I was ready to face the music and move on with my life. By some miracle, their father agreed to grant me sole custody.
By this point, I was hungry for prosperity. So naturally, I went back to teaching. Face palm. Despite my recent life experiences, some wounds run too deep and I genuinely didn’t believe I was capable of doing any other work. I was a full-time kindergarten teacher by day, and continued my 20-hour-a-week remote teaching job by night. I was now making more money than I had ever made in my whole life… a whopping $47k/year. I still stood in food lines and grew my own produce.
Then, tragically, the city sold our communal garden land to developers. I was heartbroken. I wanted my own land where I could cultivate healing and community and it could never be taken away again.
But with the housing market explosion, there was no way I would qualify. So I started brainstorming ways to make more money.
Discovering Tech-Moms
A friend of mine shared a YouTube video that interviewed a handful of organizations that champion women and mothers. In it, I met Robyn, one of the founders of Tech-Moms, a non-profit that helps women and mothers gain skills to uplevel in life. I decided to give it a shot.
In the fall of 2023, I took the foundational class on Saturday mornings. Tech-Moms provided child care and lunches, which was huge for someone in my situation—I wouldn’t have been able to attend otherwise. They taught us how to code HTML and CSS, which blew my mind. To have something so mysterious be so simple made me wonder what else wasn’t as complicated as it seemed.
As class went on, we got to know one another on a personal basis. Some of those women became my absolute lifelines. We studied together, attended dance recitals, got ice cream and haircuts—you name it!
A Career Shift
That being said, I was (and still am) ultra granola, and the thought of sitting at a computer coding all day made me want to vomit. But guest speaker after guest speaker reassured us that not only were we capable, but that we didn’t have to become tech bros to make a livable wage! We had skills from our years as mothers and serving in our communities that were invaluable. We could work tech-adjacent and still hit six figures. It seemed like such an unattainable dream, but I chose to trust them.
In February 2024, I applied for a full-time position with the part-time night job I already held—and got it! With it, I made $50k/year, entry-level, customer support, fully remote.
It was, again, the most money I’d ever made—but now, while working only one job, and with the flexibility to be home with my children when they were sick, or to attend their school performances during the day, or to prep dinner on my lunch break.
Promotions and Progress
But it gets even better. Very quickly, my skills with Tech-Moms became invaluable.
And what skills were those, you might ask? I still wasn’t some great coder or a cyber guru by any means. In fact, I attempted a cybersecurity class and failed miserably. I didn’t know Java, or the difference between a USB-C and a lightning cable.
But what I’d learned over the last year and a half with Tech-Moms was how to be a problem-solver, how to take initiative, and how to see my place in the big picture. Tech-Moms gave me a glimpse behind the curtain of the tech world so I didn’t have to be afraid of it anymore.
This resulted in me getting four promotions in 18 months. I became the technical specialist, then product specialist, then a customer success manager, and now I am the manager of the entire Customer Support Team!
Though I’m not at six figures yet, I’m making more money than I’ve ever made in my life—and I have no doubt I will hit $100k in the next year.
Beyond the money, though, I am doing work that I’m incredibly passionate about and proud of, and still in the educational sector!
Living My Dream
I am learning from leaders who are investing in me and my growth, and working with the most wonderful, boisterous coworkers every day. Not only am I home with my kids when they are sick, I get to homeschool my children while I work, and I no longer qualify for Medicaid.
I took my children on a cruise to Alaska this summer—something I never thought I’d be able to afford.
And the grand finale? In November 2024, I bought my first-ever home!
I have been transforming my massive lawn into a communal garden full of fruit trees, berries, and every vegetable you can imagine. Every day I lie in the grass in my backyard in absolute awe that this is my life—that somehow I found a way through all of that hard into something soft and beautiful and rich.
And though I never could have gotten here on my own, it is all mine: the fruits of my own labor, the results of my own perseverance. No matter what comes next, no one can ever take that away from me.
Gratitude
I will forever be grateful for Tech-Moms, for instilling in me the confidence to pursue my dreams, the space to heal my limiting beliefs, and the community to hold me up when all I wanted to do was quit.
I wish getting out of poverty wasn’t so difficult. But I’m eternally grateful for those that made it possible for me to do so.
Keri’s story is just one example of the transformation possible through Tech-Moms. She is proof that with the right skills, support, and community, mothers can break cycles, build confidence, and step into careers they never thought possible.
If you’re ready to write your own success story, don’t wait—enroll today and take the first step toward your future.
And if you’d like to help more moms like Keri change their lives, consider becoming part of the journey. Donate today and give the gift of opportunity, confidence, and a brighter future.