This week, we introduce you to Jezel Ann Dagang, who is child care provider in Washington State.

MEET JEZEL

She recently became a licensed child care provider, but Jezel Ann Dagang says her passion to teach kids started at a young age with help from her family.

THE IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY

Jezel grew up in the Philippines and was the oldest of her siblings. She says she helped them out whenever she could and often passed along what she knew to them so they could get a head start.

“My love for teaching started at a young age. Being the eldest I am always excited to teach my younger siblings what I learned in school. Back then I liked to play pretend as a teacher to my siblings and cousins.”

In 2017, Jezel says she moved to the US and settled in the Marysville area of Western Washington with her husband and his family. Her friend Myra Ann was running a child care facility and offered her a job as a part-time assistant teacher.

“I completed the requirements needed in my free time then I started to work with her. After doing it for a little while, I decided to quit my other job to become a full-time assistant teacher.”

DISCOVERING IMAGINE

Jezel says the more she thought about it, the more interested she was in becoming a provider herself, so Myra introduced her to Imagine Institute and showed her how they could help in the process though the Imagine U program. It also gave Myra the opportunity to become a mentor to Jezel and help her become a provider herself.

“Myra became my mentor and guided me all the way. She is generous in sharing her knowledge, experience, and other important information about childcare. I am grateful for having her as my mentor.”

After going through the process with Myra and Imagine U, Jezel was finally able to open her own child care space in April of 2022. She says the process was tough, but the tools she got from Imagine really made everything easier to handle.

“Just thinking of opening a daycare of my own… I didn’t know where to start, but learning about Imagine and the training program, it gave me the leverage I needed to pursue it. And sure enough, for me it is the best way to go because Imagine guided me through.”

Although Jezel always had a passion to help kids, she says her journey to becoming a child care provider would not have happened without Imagine. She says it’s an important tool for anyone looking to get into child care.

“There’s a lot more potential and passionate future child care providers out there that Imagine can guide to shape their career path the way they did to mine.”