Category: Adult Education
-
Teresa Guia
Teresa is a transition specialist for Adult Education students who exemplifies excellence and hope in the work she does for students and co-workers. She serves a number of students who are navigating poverty and environmental barriers, and makes each one of them feel hope through the special detailed and focused student services she provides, utilizing…
-
Freddy Lucena
Freddy Lucena came to the U.S. from Caracas, Venezuela in 2016. While he was here on vacation, the political and economic situation in his country was getting worse, so he made the most difficult decision of his life – to make a new life in Chicago. He started taking ESL classes through Truman College in…
-
Suzzette Anderson
Suzzette Anderson grew up in Jamaica but moved to Chicago six years ago. The 49-year-old mother of two started at Olive-Harvey with GED classes. Once that hurdle was cleared, she was encouraged by Gateway staff to take credit classes at the college. As she worked toward her Associate of Applied Science in Supply Chain Management…
-
Latoya Harris-Pickens
Once Latoya Harris-Pickens earned her GED, she was going to end her education there. The mom of four’s goal had been just to finish her high school education after the home health care company she worked for downsized. Then, a teacher at Kennedy-King College’s Dawson Technical Institute where she had been taking GED prep classes…
-
“The ESL hybrid option works so well for me. I go to campus for class on Saturday, but can finish the rest of the work during the week when I have free time.” – R, ESL hybrid student
-
Nuttawut Waijorhor
Nuttawut Waijorhor moved to Chicago from Thailand eight years ago, and started taking English as a Second Language classes so he could navigate more easily in the city he now calls home. Currently enrolled in the ESL hybrid class, he spends time in the classroom and time working independently online – completing his work from…
-
Lillian Rivera
Lillian Rivera spent decades away from the classroom before she decided it was time to earn her high school diploma. She left Schurz High School in the early 1990s when she was told she would have to repeat her junior year due to a lack of credits. After that, she worked various jobs, mainly in…
-
M has enjoyed his classes and says his English improves every day. His plan is to continue on to earn his GED once he finishes with ESL classes, and ultimately be able to get a client-facing job at his company, where he currently works behind the scenes repairing and maintaining properties. The hybrid ESL classes…
-
Afi Akuele Hounkpati
Afi Akuele Hounkpati came to the United States in 2018 from Togo at the age of 20. With French as her native language, her first order of business was to learn English – which she’s done very quickly. “A friend who was taking college classes at Olive-Harvey told me they had free English classes, and…
-
Jose Cruz
Jose Cruz’s love for cooking started young – helping his mom make mole in the kitchen in their home in Mexico. “Since I was little, I always watched my mom cook. I’ve always loved cooking, and even had a food stand in Mexico before I moved to the U.S.” When he arrived in Chicago, his…