Seeds of Hope

From The Mustard Seed, Winter 2011
By Endy Arnold Rodriguez, Adult Basic Education Program Coordinator

Many students at the Catherine McAuley Center are motivated to learn English in order to better perform their duties in the workplace. A specific example of a student who has benefited from the education services at CMC is a young Hispanic man named Enrique. Enrique works as a janitor in a local store. His English is what would be classified as “introductory,” but despite his limited language skills, he has become the translator at his place of employment between his English-speaking bosses and the Spanish-speaking work staff. Enrique is proud that he is both improving his language skills and contributing at his workplace. Enrique continues to study at CMC because of his success at work. He feels a great sense of accomplishment since he has been able to increase his knowledge of the English language and American culture. He has also expressed gratitude on numerous occasions for the free textbooks he receives from the Center. He studies at home and personalizes his textbooks by filling them with notes he has taken from class, memorable quotes from his tutor, and idioms he learns from TV and co-workers. He looks at his textbooks as reference guides long after he has completed the book with his tutor. His improvement in English is easily traced to the classes and materials he has been provided by the Center. Enrique is a positive example of a hard-working and dedicated student who is contributing to our community.