b'a fellow member of the cohort mentioned a contest focused on women entrepreneurs. The oppor-tunity sounded perfectly aligned for me, so I took the challenge to compete immediately. Believing in my dream, I participated in the contest and used the business plan that I developed in class. Im happy to announce that from the contest I won a grant o $1,000 and the honor of being selected among the first 18 of 175 women! After many efforts, sacrifices and training, my dream has come true. I understood that if I can dreamit, I can achieve it. Today, I am the proud founder of Centro T.I.E.S (Terapias Interdisciplinarias deExcelencia en Servicio) located in Lares, PR. The center will offer evaluation and therapy servicesin speech and language, oromotordysphagia, occupational (with motor and sensory focus),physical and psychological. The corporation will help children with disabilities and their familiesand will facilitate job creation. In addition to the technical side of running a business, I also learned the importance of incorporating social responsibility into our framework, which motivated me to create the Kendrick program, with the mission of providing free services to low-to-moderate income and disabled children.I want to thank Ana Doris for her dedication and commitment as well as her support duringthis difficult journey of starting a business. I feel blessed and grateful to have been a part of thebusiness-training program. I look forward to continuing to receive Operation HOPEs guidanceand counseling services until I achieve my next financial goal of purchasing a stand alone location.We are proud of Virmarys accomplishments and achievements and celebrate her as a pictureof resilience and courage in the face of adversity. In addition to what shes shared, she has alsoreceived the approval of the Department of Education for referrals and has recently passed state and private medical insurance audits. Lastly, she is making good on her desire to create jobs forher local economy. She is currently actively hiring for five open positions in the Center.Congrats Virmary and happy Hispanic Heritage Month!Virmarys Quiones Irizarry HOPE Blog: September 30, 202114 15'