From Pain to Purpose: Building Dreams

“I remember telling Apollo: ‘I can’t believe the mill has this benefit for their employees.’ You can do something more with your life,” Maria said. “I’m so appreciative to the Steelworkers and US Steel for this benefit and me being able to attend classes with my husband and give back to these women who have had the same situation as me. I’m almost in tears knowing this is going to come true.”

Maria doesn’t mind talking about her past, she actually finds it therapeutic and knows it’s her calling to help other women who have walked in her shoes. She’s grateful for St. Jude House in Crown Point, Indiana as well. Maria and her two daughters stayed there for months and it inspired Maria to pay it forward. Little did she know ICD would provide the key.

“I’ll never forget how that facility cared for women,” Maria said. “I watched how they rebuilt women and said, ‘You can make it.’ I knew then it was my dream. I knew what I wanted to do, but I didn’t know how to achieve it until we saw the classes in the ICD catalog.

“We knew it was fate, and I knew it was my time.”

Apollo has been at US Steel-Gary Works for 17 years. He’s also a Navy veteran.

“I know you have to make time for these ICD classes, but I always ask (ICD coordinator Debbie Bohling): How many can I take because I just want to stack up those chips of knowledge,” Apollo said.

Additionally, Apollo has worked on his theology degree at Liberty University through the ICD tuition assistance program. He’s attended real estate classes as well as taken hands-on courses like basic home framing. Apollo and Maria both continue to marvel at the wealth of learning available through ICD and its potential to shape their future. They know ICD provided the tools they needed to turn their dream into a reality.

The journey was not just about personal growth, but about making a meaningful impact on their community.

“If it weren’t for these classes I wouldn’t have been exposed to all this learning – and we’re learning so much and so fast,” Apollo said. “These classes will benefit us so much in the very near future. There’s so much value in ICD and these courses.

“I got a passion for learning because of ICD.”

As does Maria, who is deeply moved by the transformative impact the ICD benefit has had on her life.

“I’m almost in tears knowing this is going to come true,” Maria said. “I want to give back to these women who have had the same situation as me. I know my purpose and that’s to rebuild women and empower them the same way it empowered me.”