Wilson Wants Students To Dream Big

It was like something out of a dream.

A marching throng of 75 three- to five-year-old preschoolers walking hand-in-hand, ringing bells, smacking tambourines and singing "Happy Birthday" to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

At the Redlands Christian Migrant Association South Highlands Child Development Center at South Florida Community College's Lake Placid Center on Friday, the annual "Freedom Parade" was a high point to the non-profit center's celebration of King's message of tolerance, diversity and opportunity.

In the middle of it all is Sonja Wilson, the center coordinator for the RCMA, which provides child care and early education for children of migrant farm workers and low-income families.

She says King's birthday is only one of the cultural holidays the center celebrates, and that last week, teachers relayed the teachings of the reverend and focused on the dreams of the children themselves.

Wilson knows firsthand how one's circumstances can sometimes make dreaming big seem like a short-sided proposition.

"I never thought I could've gotten this far," says Wilson, who attended the center as a teenage mother and followed her mom Diane's footsteps into the coordinator position. "I'm shy, and I came from a poor neighborhood. But things can change and people can become what they think they can."

And that's just the message the RCMA is trying to convey to its students. The parade was an outward display of what mentor-teacher Karen Lowe called "a dream holiday" in celebration of King.

"This week, we're talking with the children about the dreams they have," Lowe said, noting teachers brought the lessons to life with an obstacle course representing challenges on the way to fulfilling dreams. "It's Martin Luther King's idea we base it on, but it has nothing to do with skin color, it's his idea. Their freedom is to have a dream."

Wilson watched her mother, Diane Judge-Wilson, work as a cook for the center when it was located in the Highland Park neighborhood of Lake Placid and was inspired by the amount of care staff showed her and other teen mothers. She's since risen through the ranks in the past 20 years, from part-timer to teacher to family support worker to coordinator.

Because she's benefitted from the RCMA herself, Wilson, 36, says her experiences help her identify with issues she faces on a daily basis.

"Knowing where these parents are coming from helps me relate to them," said the mother of three. "I may not always tell them what they want to hear, but being able to understand and relate and give them a sense of hope at the moment is a good thing."

And though she's more than happy to pass on the teachings of King to her eager young pupils, Wilson said his dream of improvement through opportunity is something that's still alive in her.

"I was going to school a few years back, but I stopped," said Wilson, who noted the encouragement she's received from parents and co-workers. "If I continue and finish, it will help me motivate people even more."