From Sorting “Smalls” to Shaping Young Minds: How Ruby Chavez Haro is Building Her Future Through UNC Charlotte and Amazon
For Ruby Chavez Haro, taking care of smalls is both her job and her future.
At Amazon, “smalls” are the thousands of lightweight packages she sorts during late-night warehouse shifts. In the career she’s working toward, they’ll be toddlers, preschoolers and young children.
Supported by Amazon’s Career Choice tuition benefit program through UNC Charlotte’s Tuition Benefits Partnership, Chavez Haro is earning her Bachelor of Arts in Child and Family Development while balancing a full course load, a part-time job and a dream of opening her own childcare facility.
“I’m trying to get my bachelor’s in Child and Family Development because I want to have my own childcare facility in the future,” she said.
Her path to that goal wasn’t always clear.
Chavez Haro initially began college as a graphic design student, drawn to the creative and technical aspects of the field. But as she learned more about herself, she realized her passions pointed in a different direction.
“My path has not been completely straightforward,” she said. “I’ve learned that it’s okay to pivot because you gain a new clarity about yourself.”
The inspiration for that pivot came from family.
Growing up, Chavez Haro watched her mother teach children and saw firsthand the impact a caring educator could have on their lives. Her sister, a UNC Charlotte graduate, followed a similar path and became a teacher. Surrounded by a large, close-knit family, Chavez Haro discovered early on that she enjoyed connecting with children.
“Seeing my mom with her little ones and how she interacted with them and the influence that she made on them, I really loved it,” Chavez Haro said. “Being able to have such a great impact on them so early on, I feel like that’s going to make a big difference.”
Today, she is putting that passion into practice while juggling a demanding schedule. Chavez Haro takes five courses each semester while working approximately 20 hours a week at Amazon, where shifts can stretch past midnight depending on warehouse demand.
The balancing act isn’t always easy.
“The biggest challenge has been really just balancing work, school, friends, family and other personal responsibilities,” she said. “Managing everything at once takes a lot of discipline.”
When things become overwhelming, she leans on her family for encouragement and reminds herself why she started.
“I just remember the long-term goals and the reason why I started this journey in the first place,” she said.
Her coursework has already begun changing the way she thinks about child development. Through classes focused on early childhood education and special education, Chavez Haro has developed new levels of patience, adaptability and creativity.
“I thought that I was a lot more patient than I was,” she said. “Through what I’ve learned in my classes, I have learned how to become even more patient. I see it from the child’s point of view.”
One project that stands out involved creating lessons around The Color Monster, a children’s book that helps young learners understand emotions. Chavez Haro designed activities that encouraged children to identify feelings, recognize emotions in others and explore social-emotional development through creative play. The assignment reinforced what she loves most about working with children: helping them make sense of the world around them.
The tuition benefit has played a critical role in making those experiences possible.
“It makes me feel valued. It makes me feel supported knowing that my employer believes in helping their associates grow in their career path,” Chavez Haro said. Without the benefit, attending UNC Charlotte as a full-time student would have created a much greater financial burden.
Expected to graduate in spring 2027, Chavez Haro is excited for what comes next. Her long-term goal is to open a childcare center where she can create a safe, supportive environment for children while giving working parents peace of mind.
“I love what I’m doing,” she said. “I love the pivot that my life has taken and I feel like this is definitely what I was made to do.”
For now, she spends her nights sorting small packages in an Amazon warehouse. But with every class completed and every semester behind her, Chavez Haro is moving closer to the smalls that inspired her career path all along — the children she hopes to teach, nurture and help thrive for years to come.