Seeds of Hope: CMC Helps the Entire Family

From The Mustard Seed, Summer 2011

Volunteer tutor Bob and Maria during an English lesson.

Maria grew up in an impoverished community in Mexico, where she was only able to attend school to the 6th grade. She did not want the same story for her children, so in 2001 at the age of 23 with her husband and infant daughter, Maria came to the United States looking for a better life for herself and her family.

In December 2001 Maria’s brother, a student at the Catherine McAuley Center (CMC), brought her to the Center for the first time. Maria did not speak English when she first came to the Center. Her first lesson was to identify letters ‘A’ through ‘M’ and write letters ‘A’ through ‘I’ three times. Maria worked hard and came to English class two hours each week, all while raising her three children (two with special needs) and working a full-time job cleaning office buildings in the evenings. Maria worked through all four language levels at CMC and dramatically improved her English from an introductory level to an advanced level.

Midway through her English study, Maria set a goal to obtain her U.S. Citizenship. She accomplished this in 2008 with the help of dedicated CMC volunteer tutors who coached her on the required 100 US history/civic questions and interview application.

Maria also worked for one year at CMC as a student intern in the education department. Through this experience, not only was she able to learn office/clerical skills but also tutor other English language learners. That experience gave Maria the confidence to set a goal to become an ELL Para-educator.

Maria registered at Kirkwood Community College (KCC) and started level five ESL classes, then graduated into mainstream classes. Maria continues to take KCC classes in hopes of reaching her long-term goal of becoming a teaching assistant at the preschool level. In addition, Maria attends English classes at CMC twice a week. Maria credits the staff and volunteer tutors with giving her the support she needed to further her education, “They made me feel like I can do it.”

Maria has utilized many CMC services over the years and continues to study in order to improve herself and make a better life for her family. Her husband also participated in the CMC education program and, as a result, was able to go on to Kirkwood and earn a degree in auto mechanics. This has enabled him to better support his family. In her own words, Maria states, “It is something great to be a part of this center.”