Category: Adult Education
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Adonay Dominguez
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David Shore
David Shore has had plenty of work experience over the years, even if he never had the formal education credentials to back it up. “I never graduated high school and ended up joining the Marines,” Shore said. “After my four year enlistment, I mostly worked at hourly jobs and finally at age 48, I decided…
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Janneth Alvarado
When Janneth Alvarado moved from Ecuador to Chicago at only 20 years old, her objective was simple: work consistently. She achieved that goal by babysitting, cleaning houses and taking on other jobs for about 15 years. From there, she set her sights on a new challenge. As her story clearly shows, setting and reaching goals…
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Koffi Ametepe
When Koffi moved to the U.S. from Togo in 2011, he knew enough English to get by, but not enough to take college courses. So he enrolled in ESL classes at Truman College, then transitioned to credit classes through the Gateway program in 2013. In Togo, Koffi had trained as a computer maintenance technician, so…
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Marzieh Ghulami
Marzieh Ghulami came to the U.S. with her mother in 2014. Her family originally came from Afghanistan, but she was born and raised in Iran. While she attended college there to study French, she knew there would not be many options for her if she graduated. With that in mind, Marzieh and her mother were…
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Jose Antonio Lorenzo Valdespino
When Jose Antonio Lorenzo Valdespino moved to the United States from his homeland of Michoacán, Mexico, he knew the first step to succeeding was to become proficient in English. He had already taken some college courses in engineering back in Mexico and wanted to continue his education here. His dedication and positive mindset outweighed the…
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Rocio Gomez
Rocio Gomez left high school after her freshman year, when she had her oldest daughter. Now, 15 years later, Rocio is setting an example for her five children and finishing what she started. After she left high school, Rocio worked in the food industry and in retail, moving across the country and even to…
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Luis Rodriguez
Born and raised on Chicago’s South Side, Luis Antonio Rodriguez is no stranger to hardship. He was a senior at Morton High School in 2007 when his whole life changed forever – his family reached a point of financial instability, because his single mother was no longer able to work enough hours to make ends…
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Ida Willis
Ida Willis always thought she had her high school diploma. Then, 9 years ago at the age of 55, Ida tried to sign up for college courses and was told that while she may have participated in her high school graduation and received her diploma, she was actually one class short of the credential. Ida…
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Hortensia Castro
Hortensia always had faith that she would we make it into UIC’s nursing program, but it took her almost 30 years to get there. Starting at the age of 17, she worked in a factory and at a boutique before she got a job working in housekeeping at a hospital. That’s where she found her…