Senior Spotlight: Daniesha (Day-Day Watson)

Seeing seniors graduate from the Job Foundation keeps us motivated as we work with them for up to 13 years.  It is so exciting to watch them finish their years of the program by graduating from high school, obtaining all their hard-earned savings they have grown over the years, and going on to the next step in their life.  

One of those seniors is Daniesha or Day-Day Watson, who started the program during kindergarten.   She has spent time learning how to save her money wisely. One strategy she developed is both simple and powerful: When tempted to make an online purchase, she adds items to her cart and waits until the next morning before deciding. After giving herself time to think it over, she often finds that what once felt like a “must-have” is no longer worth it. This habit of pausing and reflecting has helped her make wise financial decisions time and time again.

Because of her consistency and discipline, Day-Day has achieved something extraordinary—she has saved $8,000, the highest total of any senior in the history of the Job Foundation.  Day-Day was a great student, often receiving high grades in her classes, and as she got older, she decided to contribute extra money to her savings to continue growing that amount.

Day Day has found the lessons to be beneficial to her at the Job Foundation.  She has stated “The most valuable lessons I have learned at the Job Foundation are how to file taxes, write checks, annual insurance lessons, and how to budget.”

Day Day will attend the University of Northern Iowa in the fall with a full ride scholarship to focus her studies on Spanish to be used as an interpreter.  She also hopes to receive a minor in French and complete certificate programs in Linguistics and ASL.  

We are incredibly grateful for Day Day at the Job Foundation and the many years she has been with us.  We know she is going to do great things in her future. 

Day-Day at reenrollment with her siblings.

Day Day reading donor thank you with her mom.