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Vanessa says her daughter is a “happy kid,” and she wants Jana Valerie to stay that way.
Thankfully, a scholarship through HireSmart Cares will do a lot to keep the smile on the seventh grader’s face since she can now remain at a private school in the Philippines with her friends.
Vanessa, a HireSmart employee, says a private school education is far superior to a public school experience in the Philippines.
“I’m also a graduate of private school, so I know the quality of education it can give to my daughter,” she said. “I’m so thankful to HireSmart for helping me sustain the education of my daughter.”
HireSmart provides its employees with medical and dental insurance, leadership training opportunities, and family scholarships, as well as a work-from-home lifestyle for good wages.
Vanessa and her husband, Edgar, have two children, Jana and a son, Josiah Vans, who just started college and plans to be a civil engineer.
The family could afford to send both to private school, but with Josiah moving to college, where costs are double or triple the grade school expenses, Vanessa and Edgar needed to enroll Jana in a public school.
“She (Jana) didn’t complain; she understood our financial status, but I know, as a mom, she would want to retain her school,” said Vanessa.
She added that Jana was “so happy” when she learned she could stay at the private school with her friends. Jana plans to be an architect one day.
“If by God’s will, they will both be successful, that’s really great to have an architect and a civil engineer at the same time in the family,” said Vanessa.
The proud mom says her daughter is a “very friendly, positive, outspoken kid” and the “joker of her class.” She doesn’t remember her ever getting lower than a 90 on tests.
“I’m not really the type of mom who would push her, but she has that determination to really do well in school,” she said.
Jana participates in math and badminton clubs, and the family plays badminton on the weekends.
“We’re playing with her whenever we can, me and my husband,” she said.
Vanessa has served a community association management client in the U.S. for four years.
“I enjoy the work very much,” she said. “I think I’m the longest-staying Filipino assistant in the (client’s) company. They treat me with respect. It’s a fun environment. There’s pressure, but you can’t really feel it when you’re having fun with your co-employees.”
Vanessa said she also enjoys working for HireSmart, which hires virtual employees to work with their U.S.-based clients. She said she’s unaware of other companies providing families of their virtual employees with scholarships for education.
She thanked HireSmart co-founder and CEO Anne Lackey for helping her family.
“I’m happy we have this offered, and I would like to personally express how grateful I am to Anne and HireSmart for thinking about the employees,” she said. “This is a very good program for the employees because it affects our loved ones. And we are much more appreciative and motivated to work if our loved ones are happy. For me, that’s really true. They are the reason why I’m working hard.”