INNOVATION Excellence Collaboration INTEGRITY LEARNER ...

2 0 1 4 A n n u a l Re c o g n i t i o n C e r e m o ny See America Through My Eyes

I N N O VAT I O N E x c e l l e n c e Collaboration INTEGRITY LEARNER-FOCUSED Respect I n n ovat i o n E XC E L L E N C E COLLABORATION Integrity Learner-Focused RESPECT

Table of Contents Letter from the Executive Director...................................................................................2 Guest Speaker Biography: Tom Gjeltan.....................................................................2 About the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia ...............................................................2 Community Service Awards...............................................................................................3 Basic Literacy Tutoring Student Essays.............................................................................4 ESOL Tutoring Student Essays.........................................................................................8 Classroom Student Essays.................................................................................................14 Outstanding Student Achievement Nominations............................................................29 Outstanding Teacher Nominations...................................................................................38 Outstanding Tutor Nominations......................................................................................42 Volunteer Awards Volunteer Service Anniversaries.................................................................................46 Volunteers of the Year.................................................................................................47 Donors..................................................................................................................48 Board and Staff ................................................................................................................49

The Literacy Council of Northern Virginia: Honorable Mention Recipient of The Washington Post 2013 Award for Excellence in Nonprofit Management.

L i te ra c y C ou n cil of Northern Virginia

Annual Recognition Ceremony See America Through My Eyes June 19, 2014

PROGRAM AGENDA Welcome Remarks Presentation of Community Partner Awards: Wells Fargo Virginia Office on Volunteerism and Community Service (AmeriCorps) Student Essays Spotlight Guest Speaker, Tom Gjelten Award Presentations: Outstanding Student Achievement Outstanding Teacher Outstanding Tutor Volunteer Service Anniversaries Volunteers of the Year Concluding Remarks

A Message from the Executive Director Thank you for joining the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia for the Annual Recognition of our Learners, Volunteers and Community Partners. Every year the Literacy Council takes this opportunity to stop and acknowledge the special people that contribute to the organization’s success. Chief among them is our learners. This year’s theme, See America Through My Eyes, was selected because of the unique perspective our learners, from all over the world, bring to the teaching and learning that happens here. They are the reason we are in business, and, as most of you know, they teach us so much. As the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia moves into the next 50 years of service, we will continue to keep the learners perspective, choices, ideas and goals at the forefront of our educational programs. Over the next several years, the Literacy Council will be revising and restructuring its educational programs. As is to be expected in education, we are always learning new ways to strengthen service delivery. The mission and values will not change. Serving adults with beginning-level literacy and language instruction, with integrity, program excellence, collaboration, innovation, respect, and above all, learner-focused will always remain. Thank you for being a part of our family. -Patricia M Donnelly

Today’s Guest Speaker, Tom Gjelten Tom Gjelten covers a wide variety of global security and economic issues for NPR News. He brings to that assignment many years covering international news from posts in Washington and around the world. Since joining NPR in 1982 as labor and education reporter, Gjelten has won numerous awards for his work. His 1992 series “From Marx to Markets,” documenting the transition to market economics in Eastern Europe, won an Overseas Press Club award for “Best Business or Economic Reporting in Radio or TV.” His coverage of the wars in the former Yugoslavia earned Gjelten the Overseas Press Club’s Lowell Thomas Award, a George Polk Award and a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award. He was part of the NPR teams that won an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Silver Baton for September 11 coverage and a George Foster Peabody Award for coverage of the war in Iraq. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. In addition to reporting for NPR, Gjelten is a regular panelist on the PBS program Washington Week and serves on the editorial board of World Affairs Journal. A graduate of the University of Minnesota, he began his professional career as a public school teacher and a freelance writer.

About the Literacy Council The Literacy Council of Northern Virginia empowers men and women by teaching them the basic skills of reading, writing, speaking, and understanding English. Serving an area where 120 different languages are spoken, and one in three families speaks a language other than English, the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia’s adult education programs are in great demand. The organization provides classes for individuals and families, one-on-one tutoring, and self-paced, computer-assisted learning. LCNV aims to educate and to empower – so that adult learners participate more fully and confidently in their communities. Reading, writing, and speaking: it’s just fundamental.

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Community Service Awards Each year, the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia recognizes a number of its partners for their outstanding, consistent support of its programs and mission. This year, LCNV is proud to recognize two organizations who have demonstrated innovative, consistent, and generous support.

Wells Fargo Wells Fargo began its commitment to the Literacy Council in 2008 and the engagement and support has steadily increased over the past six years. This is not surprising given Wells Fargo’s corporate commitment to building strong communities. One of the giving priorities of Wells Fargo is workforce development and job creation. It is often hard to make the case that LCNV’s beginning-level language program and basic literacy instruction is creating the workforce of the future. The Community Affairs team at Wells Fargo recognizes that workforce development starts with basic literacy and beginning-level English language learning, as is demonstrated by their $40,000 investment in the Literacy Council’s adult education program over the past five years. Their continued generosity will not only contribute to the success of the adults today, but will have a positive impact on their children and the next generation of workers.

Virginia Office of Volunteerism and Community Service (AmeriCorps) For fifteen years the Literacy Council has benefited from the service of AmeriCorps members. Originally, LCNV partnered with DC Learns to recruit and train two members each year to serve as ESOL classroom instructors in our beginning adult ESOL program. Since 2004, LCNV has worked in partnership with Virginia’s Office on Volunteerism and Community Service. This match was made in heaven. The Literacy Council’s AmeriCorps program has grown and flourished, and we are now leading a regional team of eight members and strengthening adult education throughout Northern Virginia with members serving in Prince William and Loudoun Counties. The impact the AmeriCorps Program has had on the Literacy Council’s service delivery is nearly impossible to measure. The exceptional AmeriCorps members who have served with LCNV over the years have changed the lives of hundreds of adult learners. We cannot celebrate their service enough. This year, we recognize the support commitment of the office in Richmond that helps make the grant possible to recruit and train these young professionals for service. The success and growth of the Council’s AmeriCorps Program would not be possible without the help of the staff at the Office on Volunteerism and Community Service. The LCNV Board and Staff are grateful for this partnership and for the now eight members who are serving in Northern Virginia with three community-based literacy organizations. Also worth celebrating, this year AmeriCorps is celebrating 20 years as a National Community Service program.

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Basic Literacy Tutoring Student Essays

LCNV learners from all four instructional programs were invited to submit writings around our theme for this year’s Annual Recognition Event: “See America Through My Eyes.” Learners worked with tutors, teachers, and classmates to formulate ideas, construct drafts, edit, and polish their writing in order to create the final products contained here. The ideas and opinions contained in this publication are those of the learners and do not necessarily reflect those of LCNV or its partners. Marliya Sabur – Essay Reader My Experience in America My experience in America is wonderful and exciting. When I came to the USA I didn’t have $10 in my hand. Now after 35 years I have a wonderful husband, a 30 year marriage, and two wonderful boys. The life I have now is more than I expected when I first came to America. My family has a good life in America. My husband and I worked very hard to give our sons a good life and a good education. Now the whole family lives well. We have our own house. My sons have good jobs. My husband and I are over 50 and we still have employment. My sons have their own houses.

Marliya Sabur

I am very grateful to be living in America. It is a beautiful country. It has many very nice, generous, and friendly people. I am so thankful that I found the Literacy Council and I am improving my education and English. Awa Bayo When I came to America, I didn’t know how to read and write but today I can say that I know how to read. I like Americans because they can make your dream become true. So far I like them. Sometimes I sit down and think that my life in the U.S. is good and I say to myself that I am always going to study. “Wow. Awa, you are doing good,” and say that, “It’s not you”. I thank the Americans that help me to be where I am today. I like to say thank you to LCNV. I love all of them. I am happy to live in the U.S.

Awa Bayo

Albert Costanzo I am a student with the Literacy Council since 2008. I have learning disabilities in reading, math and spelling. On July 20, 2013 I lost my job with the Department of Army Pentagon after 35 years. It’s still my goal to go on to college to get my college degree. I am 55 years old. I’ll never be too old to get a college education or go to college or university. I thank the Literacy Council for all their help. Olin Elster A Day in My Life in America When I was traveling across America I saw a lot of different stuff. New buildings and old buildings going way back to the 1800’s and 1900’s. You see how they lived back then. Back then they had horse and buggies. You had to walk. Farmers really built America, growing acres and acres of vegetables and fruit. Back then, you got dairy delivered to your stoop. When you were sick, you called the doctor and the doctor came to your house. Back then if you broke anything they fixed it. Today it’s not worth it to fix it. Now they try to kill off the farmers, like milk they want to ship from different countries. You used to call the grocery store and in an hour you’d have your groceries delivered. Now today everything is computerized and high tech. They don’t build and make the stuff like they used to. It used to be people would sell things knocking on your door, trying to sell something. Now they call you on the phone to sell. LCNV │Page 4

Alejandrina Tejada-Gutierrez My Experience in America My best experiences in America are developing my English skills for a better job and progressing. English is most important to me as a second language for a successful life now and the future. English is not easy to learn fast, because the pronunciation, reading and writing are difficult. The first time I took an English class in Northern Virginia community college, the teacher gave us a grammar book, and then she started reading the book. I didn’t understand anything at all. At that moment, I think I was in the moon. I felt so bad. I was in the wrong room. That class was higher level. I took a basic English class in Thomas Jefferson school in Arlington, where I studied very hard and I learned a lot. I couldn’t continue because I moved to Falls Church. I found the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia, where I took English class many times and I have improved tremendously. Before, I couldn’t read. Now I can read books like presidents history books: Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, newspapers, and children’s books. Before, I couldn’t write, but now I can write complaint letters. I love to write letters to the President, Senators, Congress.

Alejandrina Tejada-Gutierrez

Before, I couldn’t speak. Now I can communicate with people. Progress I took a two year class at the Child Development Association (CDA) at Career Center School in Arlington, where I got a certificate “child care.” I got a job St. Mary’s Nursery Church. We take care of babies from 2 months to 3 years old. I love very much to take care of children. Also I love take care god (Max). I love take care of the Mother Nature, the worms too. In addition, my dream is to finish book keeper program. I quit because my lack English skills. My best experience I have in America is learning new language, “English,” and progress to get a better job, helping people, enjoying my life, helping mother nature, animals in this beautiful country, also I call adventure my life. Mary Nepali My Eyes What I see in the United States are many good things. The first is there are many friendly people. I see many people who are really nice to me. The first time in the United States I had a really hard time. I did not know anywhere to go. I did not know anybody to talk to. After the first year I started to go to church. I met people there who were really good and friendly to me, and I went to English classes. The people there were very helpful. I found no discrimination. For years I have lived with people who are kind to me and give me good opportunities to learn English. I see this kind of relationship in many people helping each other. Now I’m a student in the Literacy Council, and I appreciate the opportunity to work on my English and to know many kind people. Sincerely and many thanks to the Literacy Council.

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Basic Literacy Tutoring Student Essays Lourdes Villazon I See America and I Think Opportunity First of all, I want to tell you that I really am lucky to come to America. This country has given me many opportunities. At the same time it is hard, but if you want to reach your goals, it’s possible. I have the opportunity to work as a nanny with an interesting family. There are five members, the parents and three children, John, Grace and Liam. I am glad to work with this American family because every day I practice my English, learn more about the food, and find many enriching activities. For example, John and Grace correct me when I say something wrong. At the same time, they have been teaching me many new words. The parents don’t allow the children to eat unhealthy food – like chips, candy, cookies and soda – very often. Instead, I have learned about healthy food such as yogurt, fruit, vegetables, milk, water, etc. From them I have learned how to feed Kaitlyn, my daughter, healthy food.

Lourdes Villazon

In this family, especially with the little one, I have learned how important it is to read a book every day. I have also found many enrichment programs in the area, such as story time at the library, after school activities (music, Lego, soccer, etc.). In my free time I take Kaitlyn to story time, a family project at the Community Center. Working with this family has given me the opportunity to be involved with the community and children’s activities. This has provided opportunities to me to involve my own daughter in these programs as well—even the opportunity to write this story with my tutor, Wendy Russell, who has been teaching me English and helping me in many ways. I am so blessed. Tyler Voigt I liked seeing America on family trips that I took. I liked going to Yellowstone and seeing real, live animals –seeing buffalo in herds and seeing grizzly bears feeding on dead animals. I saw herds of buffalo in front of cars. The buffalo came right up to the car windows. I liked seeing Old Faithful spit out its hot water fountain every hour. The big, giant-size mountains, covered with 20-25 feet of snow, were pretty. Going out there in the winter season, you can see animals you have not seen at all, such as black bears. Some of the tourists were getting way too close, because they wanted to take pictures. I enjoy travelling to other states to see what is there. I enjoy seeing Mother Nature and seeing wildlife.

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Geraldine Washington America Through My Eyes My experience in America is… As a young, brown skin girl growing up in the 60s at home with my mother, father and brother, I was loved so much. They would always tell me how wonderful I was and how beautiful I was. But at school, things were different and very hard for me as a Black American female. I felt that the educational system was not in my favor since there were just a few Black Americans at my school. I was stared at and was called horrible names simply because of the color of my skin. While at school I was instructed by my teacher to go into the hallway with three other students to create and practice a play. After days of practicing, we had to present the play to our class. The teacher thought it was good and had us perform the play to the other classes from the kindergarten through sixth grade. Sometimes, while in Geraldine Washington the hallway, I would look in the classrooms and see other kids doing their schoolwork and learning and wondered why my teacher had me in the hallway creating and practicing a play and not have me doing any schoolwork or homework. I wanted to learn. I had a thirst for knowledge but everything I did centered on creating, practicing and performing this play. Although I didn’t get the opportunities or a fair chance in the educational system in America, I still accomplished my dreams as a Black woman. I have had to struggle my entire life. I became determined to learn to read, to write and to improve my lot in life. Today I hold no heartaches or resentments because my parents taught me to love, not hate, and my determination and firm belief in a higher power. I have overcome most of the uneasiness that I experienced and it has made me the person that I am today. I see America as the land of the free and home of the brave. Eddie Williams A Day of My Life in America I take the bus to the Pentagon. I have been there two years doing hallways and water fountains and bathrooms. I talk to David B. about Whiskey, our cat. David is my best friend. I am going to see Miley Cyrus with Brittany. I hope to see David B. and David H. there Thursday. I have spaghetti for dinner. I am one of the Northern Virginia Special Olympics Figure Skaters. I skated to Saturday Night Fever.

Eddie Williams

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ESOL Tutoring Student Essays

Grace Lee (Young Hee Lee) – Essay Reader My Life in America America is a beautiful country. There are many big cities, nice beaches, and very good schools. Many of my friends love America and want to come. It is a country that can give people a lot of opportunities. I came to America with a big dream for me and my two children. But life in America was not easy. More than I thought, the language barrier brought many difficulties. I could not use my education and my experiences to find a good job. I had to work all the time to survive in America. I really wanted to learn English, but as a single mother it was not easy. Ironically, I wanted to learn English, but I had to work a lot. I wanted a better job, but I had to learn English first.

Grace Lee

Because of my poor English, I stayed in the Korean community only. My world became even smaller than it was in Korea. I worked with Korean people, went to Korean markets, Korean bank, Korean church. I was living in America, but it was not America. My English was not improved much even after many years. As if the time had stopped, things were not getting much better. I always had the fear of English and it affected every part of my life. I was like a little girl. When people called me on the phone, I was afraid. When I had complaints at a store, I could not speak. When I received letters, I always had to ask my children. Even when my children were young, I had to depend on them to take care of bills and many things. One day, I heard about the LCNV tutoring program. It was good because I was able to continue to work and study English in my free time. Also, it was free. My tutor Vivian became a very good friend to me and she always encouraged me to study more. My biggest change is that I am not afraid of foreign people any more. Now I have more confidence and my life in America became more exciting. I love making new friends from different cultures. Learning English has brought me out of my cave. I want to continue to study and help other people, too. Just like many people helped me to be better, I want to serve other people. America is an exciting country that has many opportunities.

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FIND A TUTOR Do you feel more comfortable working closely with an instructor? Perhaps you can’t make it to a class or need more instruction? The Literacy Council provides two programs for students who need one-on-one instruction: The Basic Adult Literacy (BAL) Tutoring Program works with adults who speak and understand English but are beginning readers and writers. The English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Tu-

toring Program provides one-on-one English instruction for adults who speak English at a low level. Grace Lee with tutor Vivian Chang

• Students set individual goals, and work with their tutors once or twice a week for about an hour and a half each time. • There is no set length for a student-tutor match but it generally lasts nine months or longer. • A meeting place can be a library, community center, or any other public place. • There is a one-time registration fee of $60, which includes the cost of the student’s first set of books. • Students are pretested before tutoring begins and retested after every 40 hours of instruction.

BECOME A STUDENT: Call 703-237-0866 to find a tutor today.

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Carlos Cazar I arrived in the United States on a hot Saturday, August 19, 2000 at the Ronald Reagan airport. My sister was waiting for me. We took the blue line of the Metro in the direction of Rockville, Maryland. Then we took a taxi in the afternoon to her home. After I left my luggage, I took a cold shower and changed into cool clothes. We walked to the Shady Grove Shopping Center to buy a phone card to call my family in Ecuador to inform them that the flight was good, without problems. I came here to work in the Technical Institute where Latin people can study short vocational courses in Spanish, such as air conditioning and heating, electricity, plumbing, blueprint reading, and computer repairs. I was an administrator. I started Monday, August 21, 2000. I started my work with the schedule from 8:30 to 10:00 PM, from Monday to Saturday. This schedule continued for three years. This work was not difficult for me because in my country I also worked all day in two institutions. My salary was sent to my children in my country. Now they have good educations, with Masters degrees.

Carlos Cazar

The surprise for me was the beauty in the cities in the US. The cities have more vegetation. In my country the big cities are all cement. They have more spaces in US cities for relaxation and entertainment, reading and bicycling. There are many parks. There is more maintenance of the highways and streets. I admire the freedom of expression of opinions in all methods of communications. I saw many times people protesting in front of the Capitol and the White House. In the US there are many cultures and different languages. Therefore it is necessary to learn English to get good jobs and communicate with other people. In the United States, people have respect for the laws and they follow them. I have observed that the government invests the taxes correctly towards the education, heath, entertainment, and social services. For example, in Arlington, they have a Career Center. The negative thing in this country is that it lacks a warmth between friends and family. Latin people greet with hugs and a better expression. American people coldly say, “Hi”. I like the United States. I like traveling to other cities. I like visiting the museums. I like listening to different kinds of music, for example, salsa, merengue, bachata, jazz, cumbia, and country music. I love classical music. I enjoy going to the theater and movies. My life in this country has been very nice and interesting. The United States is a country where many people can realize their dreams. Young Chun Bees Some humans are not honest and don’t tell the truth. They say they’re working and they’re not, especially if the boss is not watching them. But bees are always working. I could go out of the country and they’re still working. I could go out of the city, and they’re still working. If bees have flowers, trees, water, and a hive, this is all they need. From bees we can get not only honey but wax. The bee business is not a hard business. There is no heavy lifting, no machinery. Old people, young people, women and handicapped people as well as healthy people can work with bees. For all these reasons, that’s why I want to work with bees. In America, I am free to work with bees. To do the best bee business, you need time, you need to be healthy, and you need money, not too much money, but five hundred dollars. LCNV │Page 10

ESOL Tutoring Student Essays (Young Chun continued) Water in America, part one America is a very big and beautiful country. America has four seasons. When I first came to Northern Virginia my friend told me that the state water in Virginia is good. I told him that any country has good government water. He tells me West Virginia mountain water is much better. With my friend, we decided to go to the West Virginia mountains. I brought a big bottle with me. I saw many cars and many groups of people from all over the world on the way. We came to a very big mountain. In the mountain were little pipes with water. It tasted good but the good government water of Virginia was better and safer. Water in America, part two Once I brought back mountain water from West Virginia. I kept the water in 5 big bottles. After one week a green moss began to grow inside the bottle that was by the window. The sunlight caused the green moss to grow in the water. The bottles in my dark room with no windows had no green moss. I decided the government water was better. It had no problem with growing moss. Everybody in my family, my wife, and my children, looking at the bottled mountain water said: “Don’t drink the mountain water. Flush it down the toilet.” Julia Flores See America Through My Eyes Hi, my name is Julia. I came here from Bolivia in 2003. Now I want to express how my life was in Bolivia. I got married and had three children. All was beautiful but sometimes I had problems in my house. I traveled to the US so that money for my family was regular. I left when my last child was four years old. It was so hard to leave my children. When I came to the US, I was amazed to see buildings bigger than those in my country. There are few big roads in Bolivia like those here in America. I was amazed also because the stores are very tidy, but it wasn’t easy for me because I didn’t speak English.

Julia Flores and tutor, Phyllis Ngin

I started to work so I can send money to my children. Then my husband died. I thought of going back to Bolivia, to my children. They were in school, so they needed my help. But it was also important for me to learn English. It was hard to study English in America. I thank God for giving me the opportunity to study cosmetology and work in this area. I have lived here for 10 years. Every day, I am learning English like a little girl learns something new. There is no age limit to keep learning English. LCNV │Page 11

Shu Chu Ho Most seniors who come to the U.S. need to take care of their grandchildren. I came to the U.S. from Taiwan ten years ago. I like America, because people here are very nice, and the air is fresh. There are many beautiful national parks, large supermarkets and big parking lots. There are a lot of earthquakes in Taiwan. But there are not earthquakes here. When school buses pick up and drop off students all the cars on the street must stop, so America’s children are very safe. There are many volunteers in America. For example, we learn English at Community Centers, churches and the library, where volunteers teach us for free. The teachers are patient. The Literacy Council of Northern Virginia’s tutors are the best. Shu Chu Ho When I came to the U.S. I lived with my daughters, because I had to take care of my grandchildren. When they grew up, I moved to the senior apartment to live. Now I live in Hunters Woods Fellowship House. It’s very convenient and many seniors help each other. We exercise, take walks, and go shopping. We are happy. We often see our grandchildren.

Hwa Young Lee A day of my life in America is happy. I get up at 6:30. I take a shower and make breakfast. I prepare lunch. I walk my dog named Bunny every morning. I leave my house at 8:30. I arrive at work at 9:00, sometimes late. I opened my own Barber Shop almost three months ago. I get ready for customers. Working is enjoyable. I have three barbers. They are Korean ladies. I was a hairdresser. Now I changed to be a barber. I drive home for 25 minutes. I eat dinner late and relax and watch TV and sometimes call my family in Korea. I spend time with my daughter and my dog. I study English for 30 minutes. I get ready for bed at 12. I am very happy because I am healthy, even though I work every day. Yolanda Tinoco Lombardini See America Through My Eyes Being in the US is very important in my personal life, my work and my friends. It has taught me it’s good to learn to live on your own without family and to make goals for a year or more. My goals are to try my hardest at work, to work adequately, be prepared every day until I reach my goals of having my business. I want to better myself in other aspects, like being a teacher. What I love about this country is that there is no age limit to come out ahead. Of course, learning English is my other goal and I’m happy because I have a wonderful teacher who has taught me with much patience and passion. I hope I can soon speak English well. My final goal is to one day go visit my country.

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ESOL Tutoring Student Essays Miriam Rosas A long time ago, when I had been in the United States for just a few weeks, a person asked me, “What do you think about the United States?” At that time my response was, “I don’t like anything about it.” Now I think very differently. It is incredible how my opinion changed so much from that time to now. I was exposed to a different culture and I was very sad and missed my country, the land where I was born and raised. With everything I was going through, it was difficult for me to see the positive traits of this country. As I was living day by day, I started to get more involved with the culture and the ways of the United States. I also realized I could reach my goal and discover the beautiful things that I can live, reach, and aspire to! Now my opinion about the United States is very positive. I have learned to respect and love this country. This country offers opportunities to grow, and by working hard, reach all our dreams. Such as having our own business or becoming outstanding professionals in our own fields. Ligia Varela My name is Ligia. I am from Uruguay. I arrived in the United States in July, 2000. I came like all immigrants looking for a better life. I had already received my college diploma in my country, but I couldn’t get a job. I was 28 years old when I arrived and had been married for six months. My husband and I lived in Brooklyn with his brother. When I came here I found a great barrier: the ability to communicate and express myself. I used to know only a little English. Immediately I tried to find English courses. I went to Mark Center for three months and Hogar Hispanico for two months. After my son was born, I only had time in the morning when he was at school. I found James Lee Center to complete my second level of English in the morning. Here I learned about tutors. Now I have a tutor, Laurie Hayden. I am very happy because she is very nice. She helps me with everything. My son is ten years old and is disabled. He has Angelman Syndrome. This is a rare geLigia Varela netic disorder. In my country, the doctors and schools don’t know about this disorder. In the United States there are associations to help with this syndrome. The doctors and schools know about it and know how to treat my son. He goes to a special class for children with disabilities and is advancing. I am very happy that he can grow up in this country. My husband has a good job in this country. He learned new skills to remodel homes. He learned English at his job. When there is a meeting at school, my husband must go with me to ask questions in English. He can speak with the teacher in my son’s school better than me. My teacher, Laurie, reads many letters from school with me. She also helps me with medical letters and government papers. These papers have too much English for me. We work with these papers and it’s easier for me to understand them in English. I look on the internet for programs to help my son. Then my tutor helps me write the application in English. We also went to a few museums. It was my first time to see the Old Post Office and the art museum. We also work on the internet with video to listen and write. I think a tutor is better for me. I concentrate more and speak more than in a big class. I really appreciate that the Literacy Council offered me the opportunity to work with a tutor. Since I have my tutor, I understand more. I communicate with more confidence. Thank you so, so much.

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Sharmin Akter – Essay Reader I See America and I Think My name is Sharmin. I am from Bangladesh. I came to United States 2 years ago. My theme is “I see America and I think,” and I think America is a very beautiful country. When I came here, I did not know many of the things about the USA. But now I know many things about USA. The traffic of the country is very good. I like it.

Classroom Student Essays

The country has many historical places. I like the beaches. I like the countries with all the mules. I think America is a very developed country because of these disciplines. The people of this country maintain their disciplines very strictly. I think America has taught the people how to become independent. In this country, people have their own freedom. I like the symbol of independence, “Statue of Liberty”. In America, all of the people have equal rights, and I like it very much. In conclusion, I love my country. But I like America too. I am very happy to live here. One of the main reason I like this country very much because I found my life partner after coming here. We live together happily at last. America is the land of the freedom and love the justice system. Amal Abazeed I wake up from sleep in the morning. Drink my coffee and watch TV and cook for my family. In the evening I go with my family for hiking. I miss my family in Syria. I’m happy summer is coming. I’m happy because I started learning English. I like walking outdoors. My school friends are so nice and friendly. Ruth Marlene Arana de Aguila See America Through My Eyes When I see America, I see it is a country of opportunities where I can make my dreams come true, have a better economic status, and help my loved ones that are left behind in my native country. At first, all is complicated: not knowing the language, lacking the experience and not having work references made it difficult to find a job. Often I asked myself if leaving my country was the best decision to make because I miss our custom and our people. Since I am initiating a different life with time, I want to adapt to change my life. I hope to integrate myself to the society, trying to learn the language, with conviction, that all my goals will be reached.

Ruth Marlene Arana De Aguila (right) with instructor, Xavier Munoz

I know that an objective can be reached by having patience, effort and dedication. Finally, I ask God to guide me in my daily life, wishing that He will give me the wisdom and intelligence to be successful in this country.

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Classroom Student Essays

Sharmin Akter – Essay Reader

Spring 2014 ESOL Class at the James Lee Community Center

Hashim Al Mashadani I miss many things in my country for example: a. My friends b. My neighbors c. Local music and singing d. My people e. The weather in my country is hotter than the weather here so I miss it also The relationship between families in my country or the bond between the families is very tighter and stronger than here in the U.S. Most of things here is better than in my country. For example: a. The traffic control b. The public spaces and parks and streets are more organized and cleaner than back home. The parents in my country have good control to their children than here in U.S. Over here the people are more polite and helpful. However, back home because of the critical situation, the people are stressful and not really friendly. The freedom here is better than in my country. Every one man or women that ever he/she wants such as can do— speak, write, dress, sing, and dance.

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Ahmed Alahmadi I came from Sudan. Before I came, I heard negative reputation about America such as there is no safety. Everyone carries a revolver and he can shoot you without any reason and the American people are arrogant. They hate Arabs…etc. Instead I found American people lovely, polite, friendly and respect everyone. In the United States, there are open opportunities for jobs and work. In my country, the opportunities for jobs and work are restricted only for the members of govern regime. The govern regime limits the age for jobs before 30. If someone is age 30, he is not qualified for any job or work. The job opportunities became not difficult but impossible. In America, there is no discrimination in hiring and employment on the basis of Ahmed Alahmadi age, race, or color. The employment is open for all. In my country, women are suppressed simply because they are women. In America women and everyone have dignity. There is equality and justice among all and the judicial system has integrity. I feel America is my country. On the other hand, there are difficulties facing newcomers, especially for housing. If someone needs to rent an apartment, the owner denies based on no rental history and not enough credit established. Paying off a car, have credit cards or paying loans are examples of establishing credit. How can newcomers to full that kind of requirements? We hope the owner can be more flexible for the renting requirements. Besides, there is a problem of medication for newcomers. How can I get medication? Where do I have to go? If I or my wife is sick, what can I do? Those questions I did not find the answers yet. Finally in America, I can attain my goals that I did not achieve in my country. More progress and more prosperity need for America. Brenda Barahona I am from El Salvador. I went to high school in my country and I had many friends and fun. I have been in the United States since 2013. I have two jobs and I work at Wendy’s in the morning and work at Five Guys in the evening. I get tired working at both jobs but I really like working two jobs. I have fun in the morning and in the evening. I really miss my country a lot. However, I am glad that I moved to the United States because my daughter will have a great future to learn two languages and will find a good job. Eder Lopez Bravo My Experience in USA Hi, my name is Eder. I am from Mexico. My experience in USA is very good because we have a lot of transportation. I have more opportunities for jobs, transportation to work, and more security. In this country, I get pay for hours that I work. All people show respect. Also, we have many opportunities for universities and school. The USA is a big country. Hewot Burhan I am from Eritrea. When I came to America the first time I couldn’t speak English. I never heard and I missed my country. The first time no English, but now I am a little better. I hope to speak and write very well. Margoth Cardona See America Through My Eyes My experience in America is surprising because there are big streets, big buildings, and long distances to arrive at the job. It is so difficult to go to a job if we do not have cars. It is very important to have a driver’s license. And we have good opportunities because we learn other languages and we know other cultures.

Hewot Burhan

We find good jobs, earn good money and we can help our families. It is different because I cannot do the things that I used to do in my country. My job schedule is different from my friends. LCNV │Page 16

Classroom Student Essays Maximino E. Argueta Castro My Experience in America I came to the United States on September 27th, 2013. American people are very friendly and pretty. The weather is very cold and much snow falls in the winter. I really like to see snow. Public transportation is very accessible. I like the metro and bus. The food is different and very rich. I like kids taking the bus to school. Car drivers are careful to handle and respect all traffic signals. Language is a bit difficult to learn and there are many opportunities to excel in life. There are many people from various countries in the world. There are many beautiful places to enjoy recreations with family. “I really like America!!” Yassmine Chakarone What I want America to know about my life is that I came new to this country. I’m happy in America because the life is very nice. I like the streets in America because they are clean. I like shopping with my husband in the supermarket. I like America because I started learning English and my friends. Candelario Chavez See America Through My Eyes My life in America is safe. I have a nice job. I have nice things. I buy a car and a house. America is a beautiful country. Now I know why it is called United States because the United States supports all immigrants. Xiaoling Chen See America Through My Eyes When I first came to this country, I was very excited and anxious when the flight Candelario Chavez landed. The fresh air, the cloudy sky, the special building, the friendly people and different colors of people who spoke different languages all excited me. Everything was new to me. After a few exciting days, I felt life was very real and more difficult than what I had expected. Even though, I did not understand and speak English well, I had to go outside to communicate with people. I tried to learn to get more useful information. Hopefully, this country has a great education system. For kids, it is one of the best countries to show their ability and reach their goal. This country offers a lot to help with kid’s education. I am happy that my older son is very satisfied with his school and doing very well with his class. He sets up his goal and tries his best to reach his goal. Education is fair and the best here, no matter where you are from and who you are. Not only is the education good for kid, but also for adults. This country has a lot of places to study and practice English. It is amazing. I cannot believe, but it is true. It is almost free for foreigners to learn English. Many teachers are volunteers, and are patient and helpful. I have been studying English since 2/3/2014. I feel more comfortable and confident. I will continue to study here. Thank You!

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Classroom Student Essays Junho Choi When I first came to the United States of America, all of things were new to me. My family and I had to adapt to a new environment like a new job, a new school, a new neighborhood, and new cultures. While I was living in Korea, I was in an intelligent circle as a senior researcher working for the institute of research and development. But I felt like an elementary student who should learn a lot of new things to live in the USA for a year. Sometimes I become stressed out due to cultural differences between America and Korea. Life in Korea is very fast while life is slow in America. We have good quality and fast service wherever we visit like a department store, a hospital, a beauty shop, airport, a public office in Korea. Even though American people are very kind and friendly, their service is very slow. It makes us disappointed because we are familiar with a kind quick service. For example, I visited the DMV to exchange my Korean driver’s license for a Virginia driver’s license. I waited in long line to get a numbered slip and then I had to wait for 2 hours until an officer called me. I spent three hours to register my document. Unfortunately, at that time, I failed to submit my document because they needed more documents. Since then I went to the DMV three times more. I also had to spend 3 hours at each visit. I needed 2 weeks to set up the internet, 4 weeks to get the Debit card, and 6 weeks for the driver’s license. The only thing I could do was become patient and become familiar with the slow process in the USA. A reservation culture and service charges also make me embarrassed. My son was very sick due to cold. He had a sever fever and croup. I made a Junho Choi phone call to the Pediatrics in the morning. But I had to visit there the next day because a pediatrician was all booked up that day. My anxiety was such that I couldn’t sleep a wink until I went to the Pediatrics the following day. I was surprised to see the bill. I had to pay 40 dollars for medical fee. It was too expensive compared to Korea. We usually pay 10 or 15 dollars even if it is a simple medical check-up for children. Although I have visited several countries on a business trip, I am not familiar with tipping culture because the tip is not commonly used in Korea. I know that tip is given as a reward for service. But sometimes I feel that tip is additional cost. I was impressed with high moral consciousness of American people. When I drove to Washington DC, the traffic light was out of order on the road. But all the cars stopped and then passed by one by one. I think this is because of the high public morality. A donation culture is very impressive to me. In Korea, we also have a culture of donation, but it isn’t widely spread yet. I hope our donation culture is boosted like America so that more and more ordinary people can actively donate even a small amount of money in an effort to share with others. In my point of view, the educational environment for students in the United States seems to be the most enviable thing. I have a son who is attending the elementary school near my house. He usually takes the homework to home every Monday and submits it every Friday. So he doesn’t have to worry about his homework on the weekends. He can play, watch TV, and do whatever he wants. If he has a problem in school, I could have a conference with his teacher. I think that teachers in school are best people who I have ever met in foreign country. They encourage students to improve their ability for themselves and they have a lot of patience when they teach students. Most of foreign people think that America is one of good places to get a better life, a better job, and a better education. I also agree with their opinion. Many Koreans visit and live here for the same reason. It is difficult to judge what is a good culture and a good country. But as time goes by I am sure that we have to respect and try to understand the different culture and country. I feel very happy to have this opportunity to write an essay in my point of view about “see America through my eye”. And I appreciate teacher’s dedication in ESOL class. LCNV │Page 18

Spring 2014 ESOL Class at the James Lee Community Center

Waseela Dawi See America Through My Eyes The first time when I came to America I felt the excitement to see a new place, new people, and cultures. In the first few days, I have missed my family and friends very much. I went for a walk and everyone made me feel at home. They said “Hi” to me and used kind words for my daughters even though they didn’t know me. I felt so comfortable. After a couple weeks, I realized that life in America is more difficult than my country. Here we have to pay for everything like healthcare, car insurance, college tuition, and taxes. Some things were impressive for me too which are donations for poor people, help with housing, food, free healthcare and many more things. One thing that I liked the most is that everyone is independent or wants to be. I met some of my husband’s friends all of those were working had their own cars, which was new for me. I think that to live in America and have a successful and happy life, you have to be wiser, active, study hard, and work. Antonio Diaz My Experience in America My experience in America is that I have better work. I can drive a car. I go to parks. I am very busy going to class. I have many opportunities to work and people here usually obey the law. The food is good and it is good for the tourist. I have nice things. I bought a car and a house. Trang Doan I am from Vietnam. I went to high school in my country. I used to work as a print factory worker. I am married and have a daughter. I have been in the United States (US) for 30 months. I work as a babysitter. This girl that I babysit is 30 months old and she is cute. I learn English every night. English is my second language, and it is very difficult to learn English. I am trying to learn English on the internet whenever I have a free night. I really miss my country a lot because I used to live there when I was small. My country is very poor but I grew up there. And I am glad when I arrived to the US. I think life in the US is better and the kids have a better life too. I think the US is number one for children to study. I hope that I will try to learn English to become a better American Citizen.

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Spring 2014 ESOL Class at the James Lee Community Center

Fatima El Amrani The USA What I want Americans to know about my life in America is that for me, America is the land of opportunity. America is the land of the freedom and to build a better life. I came to America in 2010. I never went to school in my country. America gave me the opportunity to go to school. Now I am studying English. I am learning to speak, read, and write. Now I am working to earn my US citizenship. I am learning about the history and government of the United States. I think it is great to learn about the US. It is all new for me. I like to learn about the different states. I owe it all to my teacher. Khadija El Taib When I came to America, my English was poor. I was staying at home all the time because I did not know how to communicate with people. After one month, I started watching TV for a long time. The TV helped me to hear English better. After three months, my husband signed me up for English class. I started in the level 2 class. It was an amazing class. The English class was helped me to improve my English. While I was in the Level 2 class, I got a job at McDonald’s and my permit for driving. Now I am in the Level 3 class and I work as a cashier in a big store. My plan is to go to nursing school. I like living in this country because it gives me a chance to do my wish. Bertha Escalera See America Through My Eyes I see America and I think my doors are open. There are many opportunities. The people are respectful. The laws are good and strict. Also there is order on the streets. Sandra Y. Fuentes I see America and think I like class in the James Community Center.

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Classroom Student Essays Kaoru Garramone Is American Dream Still Alive? A lot of immigrant people are coming to America full of dreams and to live a better life. But they still often struggle once they get here because we need a lot of money to live here and need to get accustomed to American culture and work below the surface. For example, I have been paying a lot of money for my son’s daycare and necessary life expenses since we moved to United States (US). In addition, health insurance in the US is expensive and very complicated, especially for those who do not get their health insurance from their work. They sometimes have to find good one and pay more money than the people who have it through their work. Another example, they just pay 30 dollars on average per month for health insurance in Japan. Also, any children who are 15 years old and under are covered with free treatment from doctors in our ex-ward. Our money, which makes every possible effort, goes through right to left in the US. Furthermore, in American culture, I still cannot stand with wearing shoes in my house, even though I understand it is a cultural difference. So, why do we still need to immigrate to America? The US Census Bureau estimates that “there were 37.6 million foreign-born people living in the US in March 2010.” In my opinion, America has much support from society, in other words their community or their neighbor’s education for better life or hope. Never mind if you do not have great educations or life skills now. We can take a lot of chance of education if we want to brush up ourselves in the US. In my experience, my first challenge was to learn English in the community ESL class when I was pregnant. That time I was terrible in English, so my teacher suggested me to read an article per week. I tried to read every week and the teacher checked my summary which showed whether I understood the meaning or not. It was great help for my English and helped me build my habit of study or effort for my brush up. Finally, I decided to study for the Master’s for 2 years, even though I used to hate to study!! We can brush up if you can and we can create our own future with our effort. My thought was the actual American dream. At last, my best benefit being in the US is to have lots of friends who are from different cultures. America is the melting pot of the world. I could learn lots of thoughts and culture; we could make bigger capacity in the United States of America! Sukhpreet Kaur Gill I see America and I think that my country has a lot of differences. America has great homes and very beautiful land. The roadways and shopping centers are wonderful. My home country is India. I have lived there my entire life, and I recently moved to America. India is very heavily congested. There is a greatly large population of people. I see that life in America is extremely fast and busy. People are very fast paced with the way they talk and act. It is very interesting to watch and study people in their everyday lives. I like how America has a lot of diversity and everyone works very well together. I feel that the political system in America is very well organized. The democracy and governing within this country is amazing. Although it is expensive, the medical system is great. The police and judicial systems are very reliable. As previously mentioned, the diversity of people in this country is astounding. The vast variety of people, types of food and places of worship shows how strong America is. I feel extremely lucky that I am here in America. I wish to further my education and become successful in my future.

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Classroom Student Essays Jafar Haftsavar America has a lot of merits that almost everybody knows. But we have to know something about life in America. Something like a lot of hard and non-flexibility rules. That means if you make a little mistakes you must to pay penalties. Sometimes these penalties might stop you being successful for a few years. So you shouldn’t make mistakes. But in the other hand, America has opportunities if you don’t make mistakes. You can rich your goals in no time. I see America and I think… Here is very different from my country. Everybody who immigrates here has to work hard. Also they have to change life style. My culture is different from an Americans. That’s why I have to change more my life style. A day of my life in America is… I get up at 8 in the morning and go to the work, and I have breakfast on the way in the 7/11 store. Then I work for 10 hours. Then I come back home. At the end of the day I go to the shower and have a dinner at 9 in the night and do my home work then go to the bedroom and sleep. My experience in America is… To work hard hard hard—and I tried a new job: installation of carpets and hardwood, concrete, and food delivery. Mirian Roxana Barahona Hernandez I am from El Salvador. In my country, I used to study in the Salvador and had many friends. Also I finished my degree and I graduated. I have been in USA since 2013. Every day I feel very happy to come to this country and meet my family and my brother. I am doing very well here. I really miss my country. But I am glad that I moved to USA because I already have my driver’s license. I am learning to speak English, and I want to continue. Olvan J. Hernandez See America Through My Eyes I see America and I think here is a country of opportunity. It is good if you have a job because you can help your parents or buy everything you want. I like the life here because I can work and study English. Since I came here, I like everything. The people are nice. I like the big city and big buildings and I like it because we live with a lot of different people. I like it here because I am married and had my first son. Yessica Elizabeth Barahona Hernandez I am from El Salvador. In my country I used to maybe that happened to me in my life is to have two cute babies is the biggest joy that mea last until the moment are all that a woman can ask of life. I have been in the United States since 2013. Every day I have two jobs. At the beginning it was very difficult to handle the shape of each but then I got used to it by learning and now it looks like a form of distraction. I really miss my country a lot. However, I am glad I moved to the United States because I want to have my two babies here with me so I’m fighting for them and bring them back with me.

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Huan Huang See America Through My Eyes My name is Vivi. I have been in America for one and a half year from China. Like most newcomers, the American cultures attract me all the time. First, is the special car culture, which I have never seen like this in China. Having a car is really important for an American life. Most Americans have a car. America has many good conditioned roads and highways. It is easy for people to get to places by car. There are many car sale stores, gas stations, repair centers, parts stores, and insurance companies in America. Some fast food restaurants and banks have drive through. People can get service even without the need to step out of the car. It is so convenient! Also, I like the American education system. Children may get education from elementary school to high school without tuition. Students may take the free school bus. Some low-income family’s children may get lunch at school for free. While they attend college, they may apply for financial aid for college tuition. American Education system really cares about every child. People have equal rights of education in America. There is another education class, ESL (English as Second Language). As a newcomer, I have to say it is really wonderful! Without the volunteers, it would be very hard to start our new lives in America. We come from every corner of the world to make our dreams come true. The volunteers not only teach us how to communicate with others in English, but also tell us about American culture and custom. They talk about the responsibilities that we should do and the rights that we have. They improve our lives. Nghia Huynh A Day in My Life in America I see the US and I think that America is great. Everything is in order and they have a good legal system. A day in my life in America is to study and work because I love doing work related to the computer, one of my favorites since my childhood. One of my experiences in the US was driving in the snow season, but I do not have much experience. I must have been here one or two years to have a lot of experience. Irina Korsakova I am from St. Petersburg, Russia. In my country, I was an engineer and worked for a Research Institute. I liked to go to the theater and attend concerts. In the summer, I used to go to summer house with my family. I have been in the United States since 2011. I am retired and help my daughter and her children. I go for a walk with my 3 year old granddaughter every day. I also learn to speak English. I really miss my country a lot. However, I am glad to be in the United States because I get to spend some time with my grandchildren. I am also interested in meeting new people and learning about this country. Hau Le I am from Vietnam. In my country I used to live in farm and breed pigs and poultry. I grew corn, peanuts, and green peas. I also brought up two dogs, two cats, and a cow. I have been in the United States for 5 years. Every day I go to work and start at 8:00AM. I work for a packing and mailing company. I go to work for five days and have two days off. I go shopping and walking to exercises and visit my friends. I really miss my country a lot. However, I am glad that I moved to the United States because I love and like the freedom here and I want to change my job. I want to study to live better and to help my children and my family. I am studying English and my class is very nice, with nice teacher and classmates.

Hau Le

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Classroom Student Essays Thanh Le See America Through My Eyes I am from Vietnam. In my country, I used to go to work, play with my friends and study at my school. I have been in the United States for one year. I go to work; I study for my English class and get together with my family every day. I really miss my country a lot. However, I am glad that I moved to the United States because I can speak a second language, I have a good job and I feel free while I live here. Mo Kam Lee My Experience in America My family came to America in 1968. I became an American Citizen in 1976. One time my son and I went to see a doctor. The office door was closed. We thought it was closed like in China. But the friend told me it was open today. So I said to my son to knock on the door. Somebody opened it for us. A friend made us an appointment. So we did not know what to say. I told my son to cough like in Chinese. Then they understood us why we came there. But we did not know any English. When we came to Virginia, I could speak a little English with Chinese accent. Because I lived in the Chinese Community, it was hard for me to make a friend from different country. I had a lot of struggles in speaking English and I wished I would learn how to read and write. When I retired, I went to the James Lee Community Center. I found out that the “Literacy Council of N. VA” had English classes as second language. I became an ESL student. After three years the LCNV sent me an excellent tutor (Sanran Enebish). Since then, I meet her once a week. She gives me books from the office library and my reading, writing and speaking has improved. Also my pronunciation has been changed a lot too. Now I can speak with my grandchildren. They say to me, “Grandma, every time you speak English, it is getting better and better, Keep continuing your work. We will help you too.” Also I made many friends at the senior center and talk to them in English. I am happy talking in English. Now I feel I am a real American. My life goal is to continue studying English with a tutor. I appreciate the LCNV for changing my life in America. Anayansi Portillo Lopez See America Through My Eyes What I like about this country is the freedom and women have a lot of opportunities. My life in this country from the beginning was very bad. I had to work very hard to learn the language and my legal paper. It all changed my life completely. I never gave up and I am very thankful for the opportunities that America has given me. I have lived my entire adult life in America. I feel so lucky to have had my daughters in America. I like the big cities and the museums. I would like to thank my professors for teaching me how to read and write in English. America is beautiful and I love to live here. Even though taxes and insurance are very expensive, I do not mind. I love America. Tigist S. Meren What I want Americans to know about my life is that I am from eastern Africa. Ethiopia is the poorest country in the world. In Ethiopia we don’t have a lot of opportunity. In America there is a lot of opportunity that you will get. In my opinion, I see that in America you have opportunity to change your life. A day in my life in America, I feel so safe. I have freedom and there is peace and democracy. In this case I feel so blessed. My experience in America is everybody is equal, nobody is better than anybody, and democracy. In America you can speak whatever you want. You have freedom to speak or to write your feelings.

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Huong Ngo My Experience in America My experience in America is that people obey the laws and people go to school to study what they want. I see America and I think of opportunities. I can go to many big museums and libraries. They have big parks. The weather is very nice. It is an advantage for our health. Fresh air is important for my good health. Everybody can study many things and get the better education. I will be a nurse in 2017. Son Ngo My life in America is very interesting, quiet, and very good. I think America is very beautiful. A day of my life in America is a lot of good ideas. My experience in America is sincerity. Do Nguyen I am from Vietnam. I went to high school in my country. Then, I got married. I have two children, one boy and one girl. I worked in business. I have been in the United States for three years. I have freedom and am very happy about this. I have a better life. Everything is better for me here. My family and I moved together to the United States. We will have a better life in the future and I hope my children will have a better future to learn. Hung Nguyen See America Through My Eyes I see America through my eyes and the traffic is very good. It is an advantage for the traffic of many cars. Everybody can speak together by English language. The Education is very good. Everybody can study many things and get the best education. Many foods are good for people’s health, but I do not like pizza. I see America and I think of opportunities. I can get a nice job and buy nice things. I can go to many big museums. Hospitals are very good. The tourist system is good. It has beautiful beaches. The weather is very good and it is an advantage for our health. Maria Ortiz I am from Mexico. In my country, I worked at my brother’s store and helped at the cash register. I really enjoyed going to the church and also going to the parties. I used go to the town to buy clothes and everything else I needed. My experience in America is difficult because my family lives in another country and I speak very little English. It is very different around here. But now I have friends in this country and America is a beautiful country. I think there are many opportunities to progress here. I can drive a car and I can study English. Yolanda Ortiz See America Through My Eyes My experience in America is a surprise. There are different people, languages, and opportunities. America is beautiful. It is big and the weather is different. Food is different than my country. The job is good for me. There is good transportation such as metro bus and trains. Sungmi Park My family came to the United States four years ago. I do not have a lot of experience of American life, but I’d like to talk about my opinion of American education. American high schools have various ways to evaluate students. They give students some assignment for quiz, papers and project. And they give students the opportunity to make up for low grade. Students can participate in various clubs after school, such as sports, performance, orchestra, choir, etc. Teachers usually are nice and compliment students. For student’s safety, students do not go to school if the weather is bad. People enforce the law of school zone and stop sign on school bus. But I think college tuition goes up every year in America, and we have to pay high boarding expenses and high month ly rent. The out of state tuition is quite different from in state tuition. When we moved to Virginia from New York, we paid big money for tuition for one year. Nevertheless, I am satisfied with my American life. There are good colleges, good neighbors, good weather, and a good volunteer system in America. I hope I improve my English soon, and that I am getting used to living in America. Thank You! LCNV │Page 25

Classroom Student Essays Patricia Mendoza Perez My Experience in United States of America I had visited the United States on two occasions as a tourist, years after my husband agree to make a living in this country, when we took this step, we were informed what our rights and obligations would be, which we are trying to accomplish each and every day. America has many things that I like, such as: Education. The education and different programs are offered to young students so they can be productive young people, free school transportation, sports. And the easy use of technology where we get to know the grades of students, the counseling students get to know classes to take. Also can help them have a better chance of getting a good college and the young who are not sure what to study. The holidays, knowing the different days of festivities celebrating this country, which allows us to celebrate with family and adopt new traditions, because I enjoy the easy off on holidays. Different visited parks, monuments with the family and my favorite holidays are July 4, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. People. I have had the opportunity to work with very special people in this country who have made me feel part of their family. I thank god for giving me this opportunity to live in this country. Mai Pham See America Through My Eyes My experience in America is to learn English better and to find a good job. I see America and I like my life in America because the traffic system is safe and the hospital is very good. Also the weather has four seasons and fresh air. A day of my life in America is very busy. I go to work every day and go to English class at night. I want Americans to know about my life as an American. Fatana Qayoomi The USA The US is the largest country in the world including the states of Alaska and Hawaii. The US covers an area of 9 million square Kilometers. It borders Canada on the north. Also, it is such a great nation that covers 4 times zone. If we look at the map, the US is a varied land of forests and mountains. We can see low lands and mountains. Even today, America continues to take in more immigrants than any other country in the world. But in spite of all the different cultural traditions, nations, origins, racial groups and religions, I like America because it is the best country. Parwin Rahmati Hi, my name is Parwin and I am from Afghanistan. I am a student in the ESL class. My date of birth is January 8, 1973. I did not know English before I had problems. I did not know English then and I am good at English now. I use it for shopping, and I am happy.

Parwin Rahmati

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Fernando Ramirez See America Through My Eyes My experience in America is that I work every day. I save my money and it is good. My boss is good and people are kind. My work is very good and I like my work. My surprises were to see the snow, change

Roza Sade A Day of My Life in America Is America is an advanced country where human rights are protected by the government. It also has everything a person needs like housing, stores, transportation, roads, light, doctors, medicine, hospital and drink, etc. I came to America almost 2 years and 10 months ago. Life in America is very hard. I am a daycare assistant. I like my job and work full time. I work 45 hours a week from Monday thru Friday. I do not have a car. A car is expensive, gas is expensive, and insurance is expensive. I go to school and work. I live close to school so I walk to school. I live six miles from work and it is easy and safe. It only takes me 30 minutes when it rains so I take the bus to work. One problem is shopping for food. I go to the super market once a week and I have four or five bags of food. I call a Taxi to take me home. I am working very hard to learn to drive and hope to buy a car. I live in Virginia. America has four seasons. They are summer, winter, spring, and fall. The summer is long and hot, and the winter is mild. It does not snow very often. Right now, it is spring, my favorite season, and the days are warm and the nights are cool. I usually wear jeans and a shirt. Many people around the world speak English as their first language. People in the United States, Great Britain, Ireland and Australia speak English. English words I know include car, man, woman, and money. I also know sentences such as, “I am a student and I am from Ethiopia.” English is a language with different words and new grammar. It will take time to learn. Many people around the world speak English. Soon I will speak English too. Thank You. James Shon (Kiseob Son) I see America and I think I thought America was a leader of economic and politics in the world. They have the power to handle the world economy and the power of political country because they have lots of atomic bombs. They just try to get a profit of own country. Anyway, I thought America was a selfish country. But I changed my thought after I came to America. They have a lot of problems internally. They still have racial prejudice, a gap between the rich and poor, a medical insurance system and growth of economy. But I can see another side of that dominating culture, the help of someone’s effort, service of the mind, education for volunteer, system and personal mind for a handicapped person, discipline of the community, the safety-first principle, the keep of history and the new improvement, and I’ve got too many good images about America.

James Shon (Keseob Son)

I think they can keep staying as a leader of the country in the world. I will live in America. I would change my mind to American style little by little and I would see how America would stay in the center of the world. Claudia Sigaran See America Through My Eyes I came here 3 years ago. My experience in America is difficult because I have to learn a different language and culture. When I see America, I think it is beautiful. It is very big. My life is hard because I miss my family. The language is different. What I want Americans to know about my life in America is that I want to get a nice job and have more opportunities. Dan Thai My Experience in America My experience in America is good. People work and are very friendly and obey the laws. I see America and I think it is comfortable and larger than my country. A day of my life in America is freedom and everybody can improve themselves. What I want Americans to know about my life in America is that the weather is very good and healthy. Hung Tran I am from Vietnam. In my country, I used to work in the tailor shop and learned English at community school and at home. My life is better every day since I live in the United States. Because I have a better job, I can speak English, and I can do anything with people. LCNV │Page 27

Classroom Student Essays Mirian Uriarte I have been here a short time in this country and what I see is very nice. On the one hand, it was hard to leave my parents and siblings. But on the other side, I am happy because my husband and my son are starting a new life in this country. Where many opportunities are, you can gradually get the things you want and go forward by learning all you can and always respecting the rules. I see America as a country where there are many opportunities to grow and develop as people to reach all the goals that we have. I get up early to prepare breakfast for my husband and make a lunch for him to take it to work. Then I clean and I leave my son to school. I take the bus to go to my English class, and I go to the gym for two hours.

Mirian Uriarte

My experience in this country is very nice because I meet people every day and have more places to go and I learn more about their culture and customs of this great country. Nelly Rebeca Velez I see America and I think opportunities. A day of my life in America is wonderful. My experience in America is hard, but worth it. I see America and I think of the American Dream. What I want Americans to know about my life in America is that I would not have it any other way. Sergut Kassa Yemeve I see American and think about my opinion. When I came USA June 1, 2013, when I see America is a big country and beautiful than my country. America has many states and cities. Many people live in USA b/c any person come here to live it is comfortable. Many different people live here because it has many work and they learn. Many things are good for living USA. I love America because I like freedom of people. And I learn many things in USA. In my country no more than freedom compare here, especially for women. I don’t like that. In this country people have more freedom. And in America government support for people low income. And they live without warning. They children are learning without many parents no pay for their children. And they have school bus. Parents no pay for bus. This is big different for other country. In my country parents pay for bus. And public school they don’t have school bus. This is very good thing in America. Any person they do one or more work. And they gain many and they help their parents and they go to their country and they can do many things for their many. Finally many people come here and they changed their life struggle. My future plan is I will be work hardly and a buy a beautiful houses. And America is good to live.

Do You Want to Learn English? The Literacy Council offers two types of classes for adults who want to learn English: ESOL Learning Centers offer ESOL classes three times a year to students who want to improve their English speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills. Classes teach adults about American culture and life (workplace and finance, health and nutrition, civics and community, etc.). The Family Learning Program provides ESOL classes for parents or caregivers, while their children participate in reading and writing activities, and receive homework help. • • • •

ESOL Classes are held in Alexandria, Annandale, Arlington, Falls Church, Herndon, Lorton, and Springfield. You must register prior to class. During registration, students pay a $60 registration fee and take an oral placement exam. Partial and full Scholarships are available. Students are pretested before class begins and tested at the end of the semester.

Please contact the Literacy Council at (703) 237-0866 for more information.

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We also work on making change. This presents more of a challenge to Kim. But we work on it every week, and I admire her perseverance. Despite this challenge, Kim has developed a business taking care of dogs and cats. At the present time she walks five dogs and takes care of three cats. She charges very competitive rates. For her reading and math “stick-to-a-tive-ness”, Kim deserves this award. Student: Ruth Marlene Arana de Aguila Teacher: Xavier Munoz Ruth deserves recognition for her hard work and perseverance in the face of obstacles. She enrolled in English class for the spring semester within weeks of coming to the United States with her husband and son. She had an active lifestyle and successful career in her country. But, once she came to the U.S., she was homebound and dependent on her sister with whom she had been living. She often shared that English class was one of her few outlets, something she looked forward to during the week. As a student, she showed herself to be exceptional. During the week of spring break, she completed the entire workbook – a text that normally would be covered in three LCNV terms. As a person, she demonstrated strength of character. Because of (stress-related) health issues, she had to reschedule a job interview two times. After finally being able to do the interview, she was offered the job. But she declined the position because it would have given her minimal opportunities to practice English. And she felt like the position would have robbed her of a voice. She had to return to her country before the end of the semester. But I’ve no doubt that she’ll continue to succeed when she comes back to the United States later this summer. Student: Ekhlas Bayoumi Tutor: Betty Murphy As a college graduate in her native language (Arabic) from a university in Sudan, Ekhlas Bayoumi has found that she is at an elementary level when it comes to English. She is not discouraged but is determined to master English and then write a book about her experiences in the United States! She was very proud to have her story in last year’s writing contest. Because of her husband’s critical illness this year, she was unable to prepare a story, but she has continued to work hard on her English reading and writing skills. She has been a strong role model for her three children in dealing with the healthcare system to obtain the necessary care for her husband. On her own, she has negotiated the often-confusing ins-and-outs of the healthcare system and has dealt with Social Services to make sure that she has submitted all the necessary paperwork. Throughout her husband’s illness, Ekhlas has been a pillar of strength, energy and optimism for the family, and she has managed to keep up with tutoring. Looking forward to the day that she becomes a U.S. citizen, Ekhlas takes great interest in studying the materials about U.S. history and government. He tells me about people we have studied whom she has seen on television (such as Speaker of the House, John Boehner, and Chief Justice Roberts); and she makes an effort to understand the news about government, foreign policy, and the economy. She tells me that she “loves” American history because of the idea of declaring independence from another country and the ideals of democracy. She sees parallels with the history or her native country in Africa. To me, Ekhlas personifies the qualities we want and need in people coming to the U.S. from other countries. She has a positive outlook and is very intelligent. She is determined to make a better life here for her family. She understands the importance of a good education for her children. She has a strong grounding in her faith and is always looking forward. She wants to be a contributing citizen. In passing on her strong values to her children, she is already contributing to making the U.S. a better place for everyone. Ekhlas is a true pioneer in the spirit of the thousands of pioneers who have LCNV │Page 29

Outstanding Student Achievement Honorees

Student: Kim Adams Teacher: Kathy Adams Kim deserves this award because she loves to read and is always committed to reading more. In 2006 we started reading books together, and in the third quarter of 2010 we started reading the nine book Little House series. Our goal was to read the whole series. We are now on the eighth book, and Kim is already asking what we are going to read when we finish the series.

Outstanding Student Achievement Honorees Student: David Beltz Tutor: Deborah Dakin I nominate David Beltz for a student award. David is always enthusiastic about a new challenge. He works hard at his reading and writing. He is great at noticing patterns in words and likes to write poems. David always has ideas about poems he wants to write and seeks out books of poems in the library. I enjoy working with David very much. Student: Susana Cadima Teacher: Elizabeth Magee Susana Cadima deserves an award as an excellent English class student. Susana attended all but one class during the Fall Semester of 2013. She brought her daughter and granddaughter to our children’s room program early so she would not be late for class. She did all assigned homework and participated very well as a class member. She worked hard to develop good pronunciation and to increase her vocabulary. She brought a spirit of kindness, determination and hard work to our class and willingly shared her kind and pleasant spirit with all members of the class. Student: Young T. Chun Tutor: Robert Tiemann Young T. Chun is hungry to learn many things. He wants to learn to speak English better. He thinks this will help him get a better job. He already speaks Korean fluently. 100%. He is interested in his English studies. He wants to raise bees, so we are learning English words about bees. We are learning words like: queen bee, worker bees, drone bees, bees’ eggs, hive, royal jelly, honey, wax candle, propolis, pollinosis and farm. We talk about the news in America. Sometimes the news is sad, like a bus accident with students from a high school. We talk about places to eat with delicious food like duck and scallops. Student: Waseela Dawi Teacher: Elizabeth Nelson Waseela is the mother of two young pre-school children and a stay-at-home Mom. Although her husband speaks English, he works long hours, so she has little opportunity to practice with him. She is especially eager to expand her vocabulary and master English grammar. She would like to study more intensively, and recently began attending another class two nights a week so that she will be able to continue improving her English when our session ends for the summer. She is active in bringing extra materials to class to reinforce what we are studying. On the few occasions when she has had to miss class, she sends an e-mail to explain her absence. There is every indication that Waseela will continue to study, learn, and be ready to teach her children how to be successful in America as they reach school age. Waseela Dawi

Student: Eneyda Diaz Teacher: Elizabeth Magee Eneyda Diaz has been an exceptionally committed English class student since September, 2013. She has had excellent attendance, and she has completed all homework assignments. Eneyda came with two of her children to Crestwood Elementary School’s Garden Day, where she helped to construct the new school garden. Eneyda has developed a very good understanding of English, and her speaking is also increasing in fluency. She is always helpful in the class and encouraging to other students.

Eneyda Diaz

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Student: Fatima El Amrani Tutor: Ruth Hansen Fatima El Amrani deserves the student award because of her determination and success in learning to speak, read, and write English and in achieving or working on her goals of employment and, eventually, citizenship. She came to LCNV with no educational background, no English, and no employment experience. In short order, she was holding her own in simple conversations and later obtained a restaurant job where she worked for over a year. Fatima is now concentrating on getting ready for her citizenship test and is making rapid progress through the test materials on American history, civics, and geography, which are opening a new world of understanding for her. To her great credit, she is determined not just to memorize the questions and answers for the test but to understand their meaning for Americans. To expand her world further, Fatima has started studying Arabic literacy through a TV educational program, so she is learning to read and write her own native language for the first time. With the help of LCNV and the support of her family, Fatima is truly transforming her life. Student: Olin Elster Tutor: Sandy Tiemann My student is a hard working person. His full time job takes place each day in the Mail Room of the Department of Defense Education Activity. His additional part-time job for the past two years is as a student in the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia Basic Literacy Tutoring Program. We have worked together in the Challenger Series of workbooks and now we are continuing lessons in reading and writing using the Endeavor series of adult learning exercises. Each week my student pulls a writing prompt from the writing envelope and, with the help of his friend Jeff, he composes a wonderful short essay or story which we go over during our next meeting. He focuses on each task I put before him, such as the workbooks, writing prompts, worksheets, and even reading shorter full length novels, like Stone Fox or Dear Mr. Henshaw. Having goals in life is important, and his long range literacy goal is to someday take a college course at Northern Virginia Community College or elsewhere. He has gone to the NVCC website and started the application page. He has looked at the online catalog for NVCC and has also read through part of the ACE Catalog from Fairfax County Public Schools. My student has cerebral palsy, and this makes some activities go more slowly in areas such as speech, reading, writing, and fine motor control, but my student has infinite patience and the work gets done. His sense of humor remains intact, whether he is writing about his escapades with his new cat Semper, or his travel adventures with his family to Alaska, the Caribbean, or Cancun. This student is Olin Elster, and I can’t tell you how much I enjoy working with him. I nominate him for the Northern Virginia Literacy Council Student Achievement Award. He is most deserving of the recognition. Student: Nancy Esquibel Teacher: Elizabeth Magee Nancy Esquibel deserves a student achievement award because of her excellent attendance in the Crestwood Family Learning Program. She participates well in all classroom activities, and she has done all homework assigned. Nancy comes to class on time, and she is always ready to learn English. Student: Miguel Gomez Teacher: Elizabeth Magee Miguel Gomez deserves an award as an outstanding English class student because of his excellent attendance and his commitment to learning English and increasing his education. Miguel understands and speaks English more fluently than he did when he began class last September. He is very kind and encouraging to other members of the class. He has good ideas to share, and he participates happily in classroom activities. He has shown respect for the class by always being early for class and by calling us on the occasions when he has had to miss class.

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Outstanding Student Achievement Honorees Student: Ennis Guzman Teacher: Elizabeth Magee Ennis Guzman deserves a student achievement award because of her good attendance at English class, even though she works at night, and it is often difficult for her to get enough sleep. She has done homework well and has participated with enthusiasm in all class activities. She is a good listener who has gained greater fluency as she uses her spoken English with friends in our class. Students: Maria Hernandez, Talihe Heydarpoursayar, Bai hui Lin, Farhia Mohamed, Kiep Ty Ngo, and Gertrude Zialla-Lia (entire Level 1 class) Teacher: Xavier Munoz Every time I thought about recognizing just one of these impressive students, I couldn’t help thinking about how, together, they were an even more impressive group. There were nine total students at the start, but the three not listed could not continue with the class by the third week. Although some of the remaining six had to take off to care for children at home or to visit ailing family members, they all returned to class as soon as they were able – the definition of learner persistence. This was the first class I taught in which no two students shared a language other than English. Perhaps because of that, this was the first time I saw an entire class become a community learning together rather than just an assortment of individuals. They quickly began to see their classmates as people they could look to for answers and clarifications. Community building is something that often gets mentioned in teacher trainings. From doing getting-to-know-you activities in the first week to using a variety of grouping strategies, there are a number of tips for teachers to try to get students invested in each other. With this group, all of the students had the intrinsic motivation to get to know one another – whether in talking about their young children or grandchildren or about being recently arrived immigrants. I will admit that, before this spring semester, I didn’t think a conversation class of only low beginning students was possible. This group proved me wrong. On a daily basis, they started meaningful conversations and, despite language difficulties, persisted in trying to understand each other. I regularly saw them continue to talk with each other long after the activity as planned had been completed. So invested in their own conversations they were that it often felt as if my class aide and I weren’t even in the same room. They reached out to us when they needed a facilitator or were ready to proceed to the next activity. How incredible is that – for the teacher to really be a “guide on the side” for student-initiated communications! I am recognizing this entire group because they remind me of why teaching adults fascinated me so much in the first place. Student: Olvan Hernandez Teacher: Valerie Sutter Olvan Hernandez came to the United States from Honduras eleven years ago. He has been a student in level 2 ESOL class at the James Lee Center since September, 2013. His level of commitment is evident in his regular class attendance; he comes on time and rarely misses a class. He is always eager to learn more English and approaches the assignments and activities with enthusiasm. In fact, his enthusiasm and obvious effort to learn more influences his fellow classmates. He stands ready to help other students when working in pairs/groups. This commitment has challenges for Olvan. He juggles a very busy work schedule (for example, only on the couple of days class was cancelled because of snow, I understand Olvan was able to work longer hours at his job); he is also a new parent –his son is now one year old. At first, Olvan seemed challenged by a lack of confidence; yet he very quickly rose to the occasion. Through hard work, effort and discipline, he readily started to increase his English language skills. He doesn’t hesitate to speak, always smiles and is well on his ways to mastering English. Olvan Hernandez is a perfect example of a successful student of English.

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Students: Alla and Boris Hmelnizky Tutor: Jan Auerbach Alla is 79 and Boris is 82. They came to the US in 2009 from Ukraine. At the time, Alla knew a little English and Boris knew none. This past December Boris passed the US citizenship exam. In March Alla did the same. The two worked hard for a year to prepare themselves for the exam, and both passed easily. Their achievement is even more impressive when you learn that Boris was diagnosed with lung cancer in October and has been undergoing chemotherapy ever since. He and I were unable to meet for six weeks before his exam but, despite his fatigue and inability to study, he still passed. Alla has been upset over her husband’s illness and busy caring for her husband but still was able to pass her exam. Their achievement is definitely worthy of recognition Student: Huong Ho Teacher: Mary Catherine Malin and Oscar Olmos Huong is an excellent student. She always comes to class well prepared. She puts a lot of effort into every class, volunteering to take on challenging questions, and participating actively in class discussions. As a result Huong’s English is becoming clearer and her vocabulary much greater. It is a pleasure to have her in our class. Student: Shu Chu Ho Tutor: JP Villedrouin Shu Chu is a model student. She is positive, diligent, and grateful. One could not ask for a better student. Shu Chu’s positive attitude is the key to her success. She never quits in perfecting her performance. “No you cannot” is simply not part of her vocabulary. Therefore, there is no obstacle which is too high for her to surmount. She is considerate of her tutor’s needs for a warm temperature and a straight chair. Shu Chu is always on time and well prepared. She previews her assignments, does them, then checks them for accuracy and completeness. She subscribes and reads the Easy English News monthly newspaper in addition to her Life Prints 2-Plus book, and even does extra assignments from the Teacher’s manual. She also engages in a weekly one-on-many English conversational class at the Reston Community Center. Not content with isolation, she routinely dances with a group of other Chinese women to entertain others in the community. Shu Chu has significantly improved her English language skills. Particularly hard for her has been the pronunciation of “r” sounding words such as run, rain, require and through practice and perseverance she has overcome her tendency to sound out “L” instead of “r”. She practices and practices until she masters the spelling and the pronunciation of every word. Shu Chu praises the LCNV ESOL program to everyone she comes in touch with. She has induced other residents in her building to become LCNV students as well. I could not have asked for a better student. Student: Van Huynh Teacher: Xavier Munoz Before he moved up to level 2, I had the privilege of teaching Van in both the spring and fall 2013 terms. Although several decades older than most of his classmates, he unfailingly ends up endearing himself to them and all of his teachers. He makes the effort to get to know his teachers as people and to practice activities with all of his classmates. He inspires them with his astute responses and lively participation in class – no doubt due to all the work he puts in outside of class. He has perfect attendance and always does his homework – both of which help him to contribute to and benefit significantly from time in class. But even more than that, he comes to class energized and eager to interact. How does he feel about coming to class? “Excited on the first day and very happy every day,” is how he once put it. Van is a classic example of the motivated learner that makes teaching adult ESL so rewarding.

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Outstanding Student Achievement Honorees Student: Bai hui Lin Tutor: Karen J. Rosenbaum My student, Bai hui Lin, is worthy of recognition because of his positive attitude, his commitment to his study of English, and his accomplishments. I have been working with him since January 2014, except for three weeks in March when he had to return to China for his grandmother’s funeral. Bai hui came with a rudimentary knowledge of English, since he had studied for two years in middle school before coming to the United States. He is now 29 years old and lives with his brother Bai an, who immigrated 20 years ago. He hopes eventually to have an acupuncture practice, as his brother does, since he trained for this career in China. In the meantime, he is working to attain enough command of English to get any kind of job—cooking, maintenance, driving, full- or part-time—so that he can contribute to his brother’s household and the care of his own seven-yearold daughter. He writes beautifully in both Chinese and English, forming his letters perfectly. He reads well, and although he has typical difficulties with pronunciation, he is careful to correct his mistakes. His vocabulary and his understanding of the cultural differences between our two countries are growing by leaps and bounds. We are more than halfway through Life Prints I, and he has written many essays with minimal need for correction. Recently he has enjoyed reading some appropriate level stories from the LCNV library—and has printed out these books in longhand to keep copies for himself! He is punctual, never missing a class (except when we were snowed out!), has always completed his homework, and is unfailingly polite. What is extraordinary is his eagerness to learn and to truly understand everything. When I sometimes start to go ahead with a lesson, he insists on stopping and going back until he thoroughly comprehends everything. He asks relevant and often probing questions. He is gaining enough fluency to make his needs clear. Although my ESL training suggested minimizing grammar, Bai hui is eager to understand the structure of English and demands more than the textbook often provides. Because of his strengths as a student, I look forward to each lesson with Bai hui. I think he is well on the way to accomplishing his goals. Student: Joo Maeng Tutor: Nancy Fitzsimmons My student, Joo Maeng is very capable. She has raised three children, one of whom graduates from JMU on May 10th. Another son attends Virginia Tech and her daughter graduates from Robinson in June and will attend Virginia Tech in the fall. Joo has two jobs, has her citizenship and drivers license. Still she arrives promptly to every class, enthusiastic to begin and cheerfully participates in all grammar and pronunciation lessons. She has a strong sense of accomplishment, enthusiastically finishing all homework and is eager to find the correct answer to all questions. I enjoy our time together. My student Joo Maeng, deserves an achievement award. Student: Sandra Mejia Teacher: Elizabeth Magee Sandra Mejia has been a student in the Crestwood Family Learning Program since February, 2014. She has had perfect attendance in English class. Despite having to take the bus from her home every class day, she has always come early and ready to practice English. She has engaged with enthusiasm in all classroom activities. She has done all homework assigned. Sandra is clearly a dedicated student whose commitment should be recognized with a student achievement award. Student: Rosalba Melendez Teacher: Elizabeth Magee Rosalba Melendez has been a student in the Crestwood Family Learning Program since February, 2014. She has had almost perfect attendance during this semester. Rosalba is working hard to practice English in order to attain proficiency. She comes to class on time and participates fully in all classroom activities. She should be recognized for her achievement with this student achievement award. Student: Eva Paz Teacher: Mary Catherine Malin and Oscar Olmos Eva consistently comes to class and is always ready to participate. She asks great questions that demonstrate that she is actively seeking to understand the nuances of the English language. She is very patient and always happy to help other students. Eva is a model student and we are pleased to nominate her for the student achievement award. LCNV │Page 34

Student: Lucilda Posada Teacher: Connie Bernhardt I nominate Lucilda Posada for the Level 3 Student Achievement Award. Of all the students in my class, Lucilda has impressed me most with her desire to learn. Working at Level 3 is a significant challenge for Lucilda. Not only because of her second language skills, but also because Lucilda is very shy. Additionally, Lucilda has only had 5 years of formal education, while all of her classmates have had 12 – 16+ years of schooling. Despite the trials and tribulations of the winter weather, Lucilda has continued to attend class faithfully, and her efforts are slowly paying off. Once so shy she barely spoke-up, now she does her best to participate in all activities and her self-confidence has also begun to blossom. Lucilda’s boss told her she needs to improve her English but requires her to take vacation leave to attend this daytime class. While many Americans would not sacrifice vacation days for education, Lucilda just seems grateful for this opportunity to improve herself. I think she’s a remarkable woman and quite deserving of this recognition. Student: Miriam Rosas Tutor: Karen Al-Kinani Miriam deserves an award because she is a very hard worker who strives to improve her English every day. She comes to every class faithfully and, outside of class, studies and practices English when she has the chance. She is determined to make an independent life for herself in the United States, and she knows that learning English is the key to that life. Student: Delmer Rubio Teacher: Xavier Munoz Delmer Rubio deserves recognition for his commitment to learning English. His attendance varies depending on his job, but he always does his homework and prepares questions to ask. He makes connections between class material and his everyday life, often mentioning experiences he’s had to check his understanding of what we’re doing in class. Although he is by far the most proficient of the group, he acts as a leader in class – readily assisting his classmates and being patient when we slow down the pace. Student: Alejandrina Tejada Gutierrez Tutor: Joan Roberts Alejandrina is a superb student. She’s attentive; she grasps ideas quickly; she does her homework; and she’s a joy to work with. She takes her studies seriously, and even goes to a conversation group to enhance her speaking ability and vocabulary. She is a bright, willing learning, and she uses her knowledge to help others. When in stores, if she sees other Spanish speakers having trouble being understood, she helps them by explaining their needs and wishes in English to store personnel. Her ability and kindness win many friends. She loves to get through a story in one of the Challenger series books and be able to understand the action and make her view known. If she doesn’t understand something, she asks, which is smart. Some of us have been too shy or embarrassed to ask— and we don’t find out. Allie has a kind heart and won people’s affection when she told in her essay titled, “Helping People is Important,” how she even helps worms that come out on the sidewalk when it rains by picking them up and placing them back in the grass so they won’t be stepped on. Now that IS a warm heart! (And she won 2nd Place with her essay). Allie has come a long way in the Literacy Council, learning English through the Rosetta Stone program and in the Literacy Council school. She has helped others in the computer lab, too.

Alejandrina Tejada Guitierrez and tutor Joan Roberts

A delightful person, it is my pleaser to nominate Alejandrina Tejada for Outstanding Student. Student: Amanuel Tesfagabr Teacher: Elizabeth Magee Amanuel Tesfagabr deserves an award as an outstanding English class student because of his excellent attendance and care in doing all homework. Until he got a job and had to stop coming to class, Amanuel always came to class early. He was happy to share ideas with other members of the class and enjoyed practicing English.

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Outstanding Student Achievement Honorees Student: Dan Thai Teacher: Valerie Sutter Dan Thai is a relatively recent arrival to the US from Vietnam. He has been a student in level 2 ESOL class at the James Lee Center for two years, starting in September 2012. Dan’s level of commitment is extraordinary; he always arrives on time and this term (Jan.-April 2014) he never missed a class -- perfect attendance! Dan is probably one of the most enthusiastic students I’ve encountered in over 20 years of teaching ESOL. This enthusiasm is contagious, positively influencing others in the class. His eagerness to learn English is evident in his efforts to “get it right.” He welcomes corrections of mistakes, asks questions and never gives up. His efforts are not without challenges. He doesn’t seem to have many opportunities to practice/speak English outside of class. Pronunciation of English is particularly difficult for him. Yet, he continues to improve and never seems discouraged. His new English language skills will obviously assist Dan in reaching his personal and professional goals.

Dan Thai

Student: Shumiao Wei Teacher: Elizabeth Magee Shumiao Wei has had perfect attendance in our English class at the Crestwood Family Center since February, 2014. She has done all homework. She enjoys speaking English with the other students and is always ready to practice. She is also taking an English class at night at Edison High School. She is dedicated to learning English, and I am confident that she will continue to work hard to achieve proficiency.

Student: Eddie Williams Tutor: Deborah Dakin I nominate Eddie Williams for a Student Award. Eddie works hard to become a better reader and writer and is steadily improving. He has more confidence and can now read stories he hasn’t seen before much more smoothly. He has more ideas about stories he can write. I enjoy working with Eddie very much.

Student: Geraldine Washington Tutor: Tsega (Grace) Mekonnen Geraldine Washington is an outstanding student who has made courageous efforts to bring herself to a higher literacy level and beyond. Every time she achieves one goal, she would challenge herself setting higher goals for both her literacy level and work performance and she met all her goals. For this reason she was promoted a couple of times at her work place and she is now ready to take college level courses, therefore phasing out (graduating) from the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia. Geraldine has a pleasant student behavior and a thirst for learning. She has been with the LCNV since 2008 and has done stellar work that she deserves this nomination of outstanding student. I wish Geraldine success in every move she makes.

Student: Thao Phuong Do Teacher: Donna Comstock and Gary Edwards Thao is an excellent student. She was new to the United States when she started in Level 2 last term, and because of her hard work and determination to improve her language skills, she was able to move to Level 3 for the current term! She excelled in writing; her writing assignments were always thoughtful, carefully written, and very interesting. She had a very good attendance record which has continued this current term. Thao works very hard, is always attentive in class, and we’re sure she will continue to do very well because of her strong desire to improve her English and because she works so very hard in class and at home. Thao’s current teacher concurs that Thao is an excellent student and works hard to excel in her language studies. Student: Fatima El Amrani Teacher: Donna Comstock and Gary Edwards Fatima is a remarkable success story. Fatima had no opportunity for formal education in her native Morocco – which is sometimes hard to believe because of how very well she is doing in our class. She has worked very, very hard to learn English – she has been working regularly with a tutor as well as attending Literacy Council classes. And, her hard work and commitment have paid off because - even in the span of just one term - she has made noticeable progress – especially in her vocabulary and reading skills. In addition, she has developed excellent study habits. She has an engaging personality and works well with her classmates. It is a pleasure to have her in our class, and we believe she will have much continued success in the future. Her hard work and remarkable progress merit a student achievement award.

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Student: Khadija ElTaib Teacher: Donna Comstock and Gary Edwards Khadija studied with LCNV during the Fall term and proved herself to be an excellent student. She was always well prepared for class and was always actively engaged in classroom discussions. She posed thoughtful questions which demonstrated her interest in learning English and showed that she was also studying diligently outside class. Because of her hard work in improving her English and her engaging attitude, she found a job and was able to work part time during the Fall term. By the end of the term, she had found a new job with more responsibility and which provided more opportunity to continue to improve her English. We found Khadija to be a very special and dedicated student and believe that she deserves recognition for her hard work and outstanding achievements. Student: Son Ngo Teacher: Donna Comstock and Gary Edwards Son is a particularly attentive student who works very hard at improving his English. He has an excellent attendance record and is always engaged in classroom activities and discussion. He shows his commitment to learning English by the attention he shows in class (he’s always eager to respond to questions) and by always thoroughly completing his homework. His hard work has resulted in significant improvements in his English pronunciation. He communicates well in writing, too; his writing clearly expresses the thoughts he wants to convey. He is a remarkable student due to his positive attitude, class participation, and hard work. Student: Parwin Rahmati Teacher: Donna Comstock and Gary Edwards Parwin is an exceptionally dedicated and hard-working student. She was in our class last term, but because of a serious health problem that required a long stay in the hospital, she could not continue coming to class. But, although she is still recovering, she resumed her English studies with the Literacy Council this term, and we are delighted she has returned. Parwin worked as a broadcaster in her native Afghanistan. She came to this country with five of her children less than two years ago after the tragic, sudden death of her husband. She was no longer able to continue her broadcasting work in her country, but she has begun her life anew here in the United States. She is working very hard on improving her English skills. She has an excellent attendance record and is always well prepared for class. She works very well with other students, and her positive attitude, sunny personality, and quick wit contribute to a very friendly and supportive atmosphere in our classes. We nominate Parwin for the exceptional student award because of her courage, her perseverance in spite of overwhelming obstacles, and her commitment to making a new life for her children and herself here in the United States. Student: Kisoeb Son Teacher: Donna Comstock and Gary Edwards Kisoeb is an excellent student and a pleasure to have in our class. He has excellent attendance, always does his homework, is well prepared, and clearly spends time outside of class working to improve his English. The paragraphs he has written for homework assignments show that he is able to thoughtfully express his ideas and that he has developed an extensive English vocabulary. And, he often asks sophisticated questions which show not only that he is engaged in the classroom discussion but also that he can relate what he hears in class to what he is learning in the world outside the classroom. He is always willing to help his classmates if they’re having trouble understanding something or need a little more explanation. For all these reasons, we believe Kisoeb should be recognized as an outstanding student. Student: Mirian Uriarte Teacher: Donna Comstock and Gary Edwards We recommend Mirian for this award not only because of her personal achievements but also because of how much she has helped her classmates meet the challenges of learning English. Mirian recently moved to the US from Peru to join her family. She joined our class shortly after her arrival. Her command of English was already quite good, but it has improved a great deal during this term. She has attended every class, and has completed all homework assignments. She participates actively in all classes. She is clearly committed to improving her English and recognizes how important good English skills are to a successful and happy life in the United States. Her English skills have improved quickly because of her commitment and hard work. And, interestingly, the skills of her tablemates have improved greatly in part because of Miriam’s teamwork skills. She consistently helps her close classmates by, for example, comparing answers to homework assignments before class, helping them read and pronounce difficult words in English, and working together with them to find the correct answers to exercises we do in class. When the teacher may be busy helping another student, we note that Mirian is often quietly (and unobtrusively) explaining something to her neighbor. Her way of helping others never disrupts the class but enhances her close neighbors’ learning – and her own. For Mirian’s individual progress and the support she provides to her classmates, we believe she deserves the recognition of a student achievement award. LCNV │Page 37

Outstanding Teacher Honorees

Teacher: Connie Bernhardt Student: Huan Huang I definitely believe that Connie has a lot of experience teaching. She has a good, logical approach to teaching students step by step, and it makes English not too difficult to learn. Connie cares about every single student. We have equal opportunity to talk to Connie. She pairs students to practice speaking in the class, and she suggests that we do homework. Before the lesson ends, she asks us if we have any questions or if anything was not so clear, so she can go over it one more time. She teaches us many American customs and traditions. She also tells us the right and responsibilities that we have. Connie is a kind volunteer and a responsible teacher.

Connie Bernhardt

Teacher: Shani Brown Student: Huan Huang I am very sorry that I was absent from Shani’s class many times this term because of my work schedule. But I really had a lot of fun in her class last term. Shani teaches in a modern way. She uses various media, such as the computer, projector, and the internet. She makes it so learning English is not boring; actually, it’s interesting. So every student in the class can concentrate. Shani imitates some situations, such as voting, finding a house, inviting and visiting friends. She lets students feel American culture. Shani is approachable, and she always smiles. We really enjoy her class. I think Shani can share her way with new volunteers to help them teach ESL students. She has the ability. Teacher: Shani Brown Student: Fatana Qayoomi Because teachers have their own ways of motivating their students, motivation plays an important part in a student’s success in learning and development. There are times when teachers spend more time with their students’ success, and our teacher tries to adapt to the educational system of the world. If there has ever been a teacher who has stood out in my heart, it would be Shani.

Shani Brown

Children’s Teacher: Nancy Flores Teacher: Elizabeth Magee Nancy Flores deserves an award for excellence as a children’s teacher in our Family Learning Program at Crestwood Elementary School. Nancy has worked with Mirna Solis to develop a good educational child care program for the children of our adult students, so that the children can learn while their parents are in English class. It has been a great pleasure to work with Nancy, and we look forward to continuing to benefit from her work as a children’s teacher. Teacher: Donna Comstock Student: Thao Do Hi! My name is Thao Do. I knew teacher Donna Comstock when I started level 2 at James Lee School. She guides my English class only on Tuesday, but she cares very well for everyone in my class. In my mind I’ll never have another teacher like her. She not only sees teaching a job, but she also loves to help many people learn English. English is very important when living here. I felt she teaches and explains for people with her heart. I really have nice memories about her. One more time, I thank every teacher at James Lee School who guide, explain and teach, helping many people learn English, but I especially thank Donna Comstock. I never forget a teacher same as you, forever a nice memory in mind.

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Donna Comstock

Teachers: Donna Comstock and Gary Edwards Student: Mirian Uriarte My teachers deserve an award because they are good teachers, patient, and they love what they do. I like the way they teach. I feel I am learning—thank you very much to both. May God bless you always in all your dreams and goals, and care for you both and your families. Thanks for your support and your time. I am happy to have teachers like you. Teacher Aide: Ghizlane Elame Teacher: Elizabeth Magee Ghizlane El Ame deserves an achievement award for her work as an aide in the Family Learning Program at Crestwood Elementary School during the Winter-Spring Semester of 2014. Ghizlane has attended class regularly during the semester, and she has always been willing to talk about her experiences as a recent immigrant to the U.S. from the Middle East and Morocco. She has readily shared her enthusiasm for learning languages, and she has encouraged the students that they can succeed in attaining English proficiency. She has been very helpful as a one-to-one instructor and as a facilitator in small group work.

Gary Edwards

Teacher Aide: Barbara Glotfelty Teacher: Elizabeth Magee Barbara Glotfelty deserves an award for her service as a volunteer teacher in Crestwood’s Ghizlane Elame Family Learning Program during the Fall 2013 semester. Barbara has been a dedicated teacher in the Family Learning Program for four semesters. She is always ready to help students define their goals for learning English and then help them to realize their ambitions. She is generous with her time and energy, investing in class preparation, maintaining contact with students, and helping them extend their English class learning beyond the classroom. For all these reasons, Barbara should be recognized with an outstanding teacher award. Teacher Aide: Aziza Jalloh Jamboria Teacher: Elizabeth Magee Aziza Jalloh Jamboria deserves an achievement award for helping with the Family Learning Class at Crestwood Elementary School during the Winter-Spring Semester of 2014. Aziza had perfect attendance until her final exam and Graduation period for George Mason University. She has always been willing to help students through one-to-one assistance and facilitating group work. She has been a good participant in class, bringing up illustrations and examples for ideas introduced by the teacher. She has helped students use computers to practice English. She has been an enthusiastic participant in classroom games, dialogues, brainstorming for review and other kinds of English practice. She has been a good model for the students by coming to class early and showing engagement in classroom topics.

Aziz Jalloh Jamboria

Teacher: Renato Jaramillo-Villada Student: Do Nguyen I am a student of level one in the evening class at the James Lee Community Center, 2855 Annandale Road, Falls Church, Virginia. I want to nominate my teacher for the teacher achievement award. My teacher is a very dedicated person at work. The teacher is very loving, fun and very sociable with us. He also always helps students in the best way. I noticed that my teacher is a responsible teacher and very, very excellent. So, please accept my nomination. I wish everyone a good day, too.

C. Renato Jaramillo-Villa

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Outstanding Teacher Honorees Teacher: Elizabeth Magee Student: Eneyda M. Diaz Every morning, she strives to help me achieve my dreams and goals. She is very dedicated every morning. My teacher is Elizabeth Magee. Teacher: Elizabeth Magee Student: Shumiao Wei Teacher Magee is an excellent teacher. She is full of love. She is patient, and so we make progress. Thanks to a better school. Thanks to my dear teacher. We feel the warmth of new immigrants.

Elizabeth Magee

Children’s Teacher: Mirna Solis Teacher: Elizabeth Magee Mirna Solis deserves an award for excellence as a children’s teacher in the Crestwood Elementary School Family Learning Program. Mirna has designed and conducted an educational child care program which supports our adult English classes at Crestwood. Many of our adult students could not come to our English classes if we did not have Mirna as a children’s teacher. She has been a kind and helpful member of our Family Learning team, always willing to consult with adult students to encourage them about their own education and that of their children. The children love her. Teacher Aide: Chris Wollenberg Teacher: Xavier Munoz In my two years as an AmeriCorps member, I have been inspired by the passion and dedication of LCNV’s instructor volunteers. And it’s because of their dedication that I feel privileged to support them behind the scenes so as to make their volunteer experience and the learning experience of LCNV’s students just a little bit better. Given that, I would like to single out one volunteer for recognition and then some – Chris Wollenberg. This is the second year I’ve had the fortune to have him as a class aide, and it’s the second year that he continues to go above and beyond that expected of volunteer instructors and class aides. Among other things, he makes copies for our class, passes out materials to the other volunteer instructors, cleans the boards, sets up tables, and tests students. But that doesn’t even touch upon all that he does for me and for our students in his role as a class aide during class and all that he does in teaching the afternoon conversation class! Put simply, he’s made it immeasurably easier for me to create valuable learning experiences for our level 1 students and to have the time to grow as an AmeriCorps member and adult educator. Teacher: Chris Wollenberg Student: James Shon (Kiseob Son) My name is James Shon. I appreciate all teachers of Literacy Council of Northern Virginia. I want to talk about one of the best teachers. Mr. Chris taught two classes, one is the beginner class of English, and another is the free conversation class. He has a lot of experience of teaching, so he has excellent teaching techniques, and a lot of passion for students. I got help in improving my English from him. He doesn’t stress out teaching and has tireless perseverance. He gives students a lot of explanations and example sentences till we understand. Even if only one student shows up, he does not cancel class. I want to tell him I really appreciate him. America is a top country in the world because he is here.

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Chris Wollenberg

Outstanding Teacher Honorees Teacher Aide: Farhana Zaman Teacher: Elizabeth Magee Farhana Zaman deserves a teacher aide achievement award because of her service to the Family Learning Program at Crestwood Elementary School during the Winter-Spring Semester of 2014. Farhana is a trained and experienced early childhood educator originally from Bangladesh. She has brought to our class a lively interest in helping others grow and develop through education. She has been quiet, gentle, and calm with our adult students, many of whom feel uncertain and shy about attending school as adults. She has asked good questions in class, helping the students to recognize that it is good to ask questions to get clarification or to expand upon topics discussed in class. She has helped students use computers, giving them her full attention and thus helping them stay focused on what they need to do to use the computers for English practice.

Become a Volunteer TUTOR a Student One-to-One

Many adults in LCNV’s Basic Adult Literacy Tutoring Program and ESOL Tutoring Program are waiting for a volunteer Tutor to help them fulfill the dream of being able to read, write, speak, and understand English. To prepare volunteers as tutors, the Literacy Council provides intensive trainings four times a year.

TEACH a Class

LCNV recruits Volunteer Teachers, Class Aides, and Substitute Teachers for two classroom programs: ESOL Learning Centers and the Family Learning Program. These programs provide beginning level ESOL instruction to groups of learners on a semester basis at at a wide variety of locations throughout Northern Virginia.

TEST Classroom Students

Student Assessment Specialists assess students for placement in our classes and to evaluate their progress. This is a great opportunity for volunteers who are interested in our educational programs, but have a limited schedule!

PARTICIPATE in a literacy event.

Organize and run our fundraisers, fairs, and other one-time activities. Show your support by working behind the scenes to make a LCNV event a success! The Literacy Council offers these and many other opportunities for you to make a rewarding difference in someone’s life. Contact us today to join our family of volunteers and help promote literacy throughout your Northern Virginia! LCNV Volunteer Librarians and Ruba Afzal (center), Director of Volunteers, LCNV

BECOME A VOLUNTEER: Call 703-237-0866 or email [email protected]. LCNV │Page 41

Outstanding Tutor Honorees

Tutor: Jane Brungart Student: Kedija Radman My teacher Miss Jane Brungart is a very nice tutor who improves my writing and grammar skills. Miss Jane understands where my weaknesses are and concentrates on that particular part till I understand it better. I really appreciate her also for cooperating with my work schedule. She’s the best in explaining and giving me guidance on improving my language skills. I hope the Literacy Council will recognize her hard work in helping me improve my English language skills. I am thankful for Miss Jane devoting her time and helping me to progress with my English language skills. Tutor: Shirley Castle Student: Marta Robles My tutor, Shirley, deserves an award because she always teaches my class on time, she is very patient, I like the way she teaches me, she is very courteous, and she used different materials to help me understand. I feel she cares about my learning and makes the class very entertaining and fun. She is very friendly. Tutor: Giordano Chiaruttini Student: Wara Kamara My tutor deserves an award because he’s everything a learner would want a tutor to be. Gerry is very devoted to tutoring. When I don’t understand the material, he does his very best to make sure that I understand in the end. Gerry also deserves an award because when I don’t have the motivation to learn more about English, he’s also willing to give me the extra push to want to learn about the language. Tutor: Stacy Colvin Student: Zinah Hannashmooni First of all, I want to say thanks to everybody at The Literacy Council of Northern Virginia for their efforts to help everyone with their English skills. I appreciate their work and their time to help everybody for free. I really want to say many thanks. I want to say my tutor, Stacy Colvin, deserves an award. She is nice, her schedule is flexible and she offers her time. She even sends e-mail to help me with writing my essay and typing it. She helps me with conversation, writing and grammar. Sometimes, she offers her time on the weekend to help me if we can’t meet on weekdays. Maybe she needs this time to spend with her family. I’m grateful for that. She is a volunteer. Some people say time is money, money is time. She teaches me for free from her deep heart to help me to improve my English skills. For all these reasons, I think she deserves an award. I think whatever I say in words I can’t describe her and her help. I’m grateful for that. Tutor: Molly Dias Student: Hwa Young Lee Meeting Ms. Molly was very lucky. She is a very good teacher. I am thankful she tries to understand everything I am saying. She is very patient and helpful. She is also very funny and kind. She always tries to teach me a lot. I hope one day my English becomes very good and we can have lots of conversations and be good friends. Tutor: Chris Dimotsis Student: Marcio Morales Thank you for the time that you dedicate to teach me English. I learn a lot and I am thankful for it. LCNV │Page 42

Outstanding Tutor Honorees Tutor: Nancy Fitzsimmons Student: Joo Sun Maeng My tutor deserves an award because she works hard to make me understand and learn English, and she puts in a lot of time and effort into her preparation for class and while she teaches. She caters the lesson for the sessions to the material we will be looking over, and prepares food, drinks, and other activities to help me progress. Although I haven’t been learning English for a long time, I can see that I have made progress in learning the language. Tutor: Ruth Hansen Student: Fatima El Amrani Hi, my name is Fatima El Amrani. I nominate Ruth Hansen for the tutor achievement award because she has been my first teacher since day one. She works without complaint and is patient with me. I’m thankful for her help and am glad she’s my tutor. Tutor: Jeremy Hesse Student: Nhung Hon Nguyen My tutor is very nice. He teaches me how to speak and write English. I am very happy because he helps me a lot. I really want him to keep teaching English far in the future. Tutor: Alana Hurley Student: John Banks Miss Alana is a great tutor. She has helped me pronounce words that I would have given up on trying to pronounce. She helps me read stories and to spell words. She tells me not to be down on myself. She helps me be upbeat. She tells me to slow down when I’m spelling a word too fast. I would hate to lose her as my teacher. Tutor: Mary Kalfatovic Student: Safaa Achour She deserves an award because she helps me a lot to make me read and write. Now I am better, I can talk to people. I can talk with the doctor by myself. I can help my little daughter with her homework. Thanks Ms. Mary, you are a very nice woman. You did a lot for me; I don’t know how I can thank you. You were patient with me all the time. You did a lot of things to make me improve in English. Thank you, thank you, I can’t forget what you do! Every time I ask you for help, you are ready to help me. You have a special way of making me understand. I don’t know what I can do without you. I appreciate you very much. Tutor: Mary Kalfatovic Student: Tidar Zirari Mary helps me with my English. She helps me write better. She is nice to me. She is my friend. Tutor: Beth Kramer Student: Salwa Abdulatif Miss Kramer has been my tutoring teacher. I am a beginner student and my knowledge of English language is limited. Miss Kramer helps me write, read and compose short sentences. Furthermore I am even learning about the government institutions. Miss Kramer earned my respect and admiration and in my opinion, she deserves the best reward you might have. Thank you for taking care of her. Tutor: Tom Lorenzo Student: Christopher Todd Famme Tom has been my tutor for 8 years. We’ve finished “Twenty thousand leagues under the sea” together and now on our 5th Harry Potter book. He works hard to make my lessons meaningful with interesting study sheets. Tom is always on time and arranges for our room at the library. I appreciate all he has done for me and thank the Literacy Council for making my life better. Tutor: Allen Marcus Student: Meron Tesega I nominate Mr. Allen Marcus for the tutor achievement award because he helps me a lot. He is a very understanding person. He tries to speak my language to help me. I notice a big difference after he teaches me. I try to read and write well, and also to speak. I would like to thank Mr. Allen Marcus. He still teaches me every week. He always comes on time. I am absolutely sure he deserves this award. LCNV │Page 43

Tutor: Tsega (Grace) Mekonnen Student: Geraldine Washington I have a tutor named Tsega (Grace) who deserves this award because over the past few years, she has been a great help to me. When I started, I could not read beyond the fifth grade level, but now I read well, and with comprehension. Tsega (Grace) is patient and kind. This special quality works well for me because I am sometime uncertain, afraid, and embarrassed to admit that I don’t know the answer. She sees this in me so she will challenge me by switching the approach making learning fun, which gives me confidence to know that I can accomplish reading, writing, and learning about computers. I feel like a light has been turned on in my head, I see things differently and am now curious and interested in a variety of things. I am learning every day that I can dream bigger dreams. I plan to move forward in my life. She even taught me to use my smart phone in different ways. With Tsega (Grace), not only am I learning that material things are important, but I am also aware that I have spiritual growth by appreciating the things in life that are sometimes taken for granted, like my health and emotional well-being. Because of the guidance and drive that I have been shown by Tsega (Grace) and the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia, I started out with baby steps and have now grown to feel that I can enjoy and appreciate a life of abundance. I cannot thank the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia enough for planting the seed of education and nurturing it to full growth. Tutor: Joan Roberts Student: Alejandrina Tejada Because Joan is a wonderful person, she helps me achieve my goals in speaking and reading. She gives me homework to write sentences using words I don’t understand. She corrects my spelling and grammar mistakes. When I am reading the book Challenger #6, she corrects my pronunciation. The pronunciation is the most difficult for me. English has many vocabulary words that Joan explains to me. Mrs. Joan Roberts and I meet every Saturday 10:00-12:00 at the main library in Arlington. She is a great teacher. She is very patient with me. I am very happy with her. I think I am learning a lot and improving every day. I like to keep her because I am having problems reading, writing, and grammar. Thank you, Literacy Council, for providing me with Joan Roberts! Improving my English is very important to me. Tutor: Alexandra Roncal Student: Mustapha Boujadi I nominate Ms. Alexandra for the teacher achievement award. She is a hard-working and energetic teacher. She is teaching us many things: she helps us to understand grammar and vocabulary, writing, and reading. We do a lot of exercises and we learn about skills and life. My teacher gives us many ideas about how to learn and use dictionaries to understand the meaning of words and the pronunciation. I appreciate her job and her effort to come always to class to help us to learn. Tutor: Cara Schefer Student: Chun Hwa Park Cara selflessly devotes her time and effort to teach me English. Cara always encourages me to improve myself. Her kind smile brightens my heart whenever I see her. I am very fortunate to have her as my tutor. Cara enables me to keep on dreaming for a better future. I would like to nominate Cara Schefer for a tutor award. Thank you. Tutor: Lopa Shah Student: Alvaro Obregon My tutor has been the best. She stuck with me when I understood nothing. She is faithful, and she cares about me and my family. She is a big part of my life, and I am so thankful for all that she has done for me. I still struggle with English, but thanks to Mrs. Shah, I can order a pizza over the phone, talk to my boss, talk to an officer giving me a parking ticket, etc. I feel less lost in the United States because of Lopa Shah. Thanks to her help, I have hope that my English can get better and that I can learn more. There are not enough words to express my gratitude. She deserves every recognition that I could give her. Thank you, Literacy Council, for all the work that you do. You absolutely change the lives of others. You open doors!

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Outstanding Tutor Honorees Tutor: Anne Spear Student: Bertha Beltran I believe Mrs. Spear deserves to be awarded because of her teaching ways. She does it with great enthusiasm and she f eels very satisfied with what she does. I am grateful to Mrs. Spear because she generously offers her time to share her knowledge with me. And because of her kindness I can express my thoughts to others. She also motivates me to read and write. Before I came to participate in this program, I had my brain full of ideas with no expression. For all these reasons I will be very happy when my tutor Mrs. Anne Spear gets a well deserved award. Tutor: Amy E. Spencer Student: Adama Kamara Before I met Amy, I could not even spell three-letter English words. I can now fill out forms and other important documents because of her help. She has also helped me get my American citizenship through her teaching. Therefore, I believe she deserves an award for her efforts. Tutor: JP Villedrouin Student: Shu Chu Ho JP Villedrouin is a very nice and patient tutor. He works very hard and he is never absent for English class. He always arrives on time at our apartment classroom to teach me. He suggested purchasing a subscription to Easy English News. It’s very good, and JP helps me to learn and understand a lot. He also taught me how to email, and now I can use email to make contact with my friends. I’m improving and I will keep working hard. I appreciate what the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia does for us. Thank you. Tutor: Phoebe West Student: Joseph E Sheaffer Sr. My tutor is really great and has patience with my reading skills. She knows how to keep me interested in the lessons from week to week. She has been helping me build my confidence and help me keep focused on the lessons. Phoebe was the perfect tutor for my reading skills, and is highly qualified. I want to say a big “Thank You” for this program and to those that helped place me in this program at my advanced age. Tutor: Mary Voldnes Student: Zheela Rashad Does my tutor Mary deserve and award? Yes, in fact Mary deserves more than an award, because she is a wonderful tutor. I am so happy to have a tutor like Mary. She is not only my tutor, she is also my friend. What can I tell you about Mary? She helps me in many ways. She helps me with things like reading, writing, speaking and using the computer. Any time I ask Mary a question, she is there for me. I just want to tell Mary thank you so much! You have changed my life in many ways. Tutor: Patricia Yasenchak Student: Nura Juhar Ms. Petty deserves an award because she teaches me in a way that no other can. She explains things to make it easier for me to understand. She makes a difference in and has changed my life. She is very patient and the best teacher. God bless her, and thanks for everything.

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Volunteer Awards

Tutors and Students at the 2013 Annual Recognition Meeting

Volunteer Service Anniversaries 20 Years Avis Black Joan Bybee Diane Millen 15 Years Neva Herrington Denise Murray 10 Years Kathy Chamberlain Angela Chasteen Nancy Coughlan Alanna Duckett Robert Federico Laura Johnson Elizabeth Magee Joan Roberts Mary-Jane Roth Diana Ruth James Sherald Martin Smith Robert Stump

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5 Years Pragati (Peggy) Balsawer Elizabeth Beal Margaret Breen Aliki Bryant Ronald Calta Giordano Chiaruttini Donna Comstock Margaret Connelly Anjana Desai Marla Diamond Diana Dowell Edward Faggen Peggy Finarelli Stevyn Fogg Jill Garzone Naomi Gittens Laura Hayden Joan Hession Rosemary Hofford Mary Ann Ingberg Mary Kalfatovic Susan Kennedy Douglas Kim Lutz Roderick Mackler Patricia Maloof Ruth Miller Monica Moore Anne Noctor Linda Pendergrass Margaret Richardson

Rebecca Schneider Anne Spear Mary Anne Stallings Aarthi Thoppae John Williams Kathi Williams Kelly Wilson Chris Wollenberg Suzanne Zimmerman

Volunteers of the Year Claire Brown Claire started volunteering with the Literacy Council in 2006. During her tenure with us she has impacted dozens of students and hundreds of volunteers through her work as a tutor, a regional placement advisor and a trainer on the Basic Adult Literacy Training Team. Claire was a dedicated tutor from the start, working diligently with her first student, Jack, until he met his learning goals and was ready to take the GED. Jack and Claire appear in the LCNV online video as a model tutor-learner pair. Claire went on to teach three more learners, including one who passed the Citizenship test under her tutelage. Claire Brown As a Placement Advisor for the large Annandale-Alexandria-Fairfax City region, Claire supervises and supports between 25 and 30 matches at a time, and leaves no stone unturned in doing so. Her analytical and problem-solving approach led to the establishment of a pilot program in her region, whereby she observes and supports the first session of every tutor-student match, an intervention she designed to enhance tutor and student chances for success. She has personally observed numerous teaching sessions and given feedback to tutors on lesson planning and teaching tips. She also acts as an advocate for learners, making sure they are meeting their learning goals.

On the Basic Training Team, Claire has been one of the most active team members in teaching at the Saturday trainings; reviewing and revising the training curriculum; keeping up with best practices in the field; and using training techniques that encourage practice and engagement. She is a charismatic trainer whose teachings continue to receive praise and thankful acknowledgements from new tutors. Claire takes her volunteer roles at LCNV seriously, not only meeting the requirements of the three positions she fills, but consistently going above and beyond. The amount of time and energy Claire has given to her work and the information from the field she has shared for program improvement has been incredibly valuable to the Literacy Council staff. Filling these roles has given Claire a relatively unique perspective on the organization. Claire’s support work and field work have not only strengthened the quality of the teaching in the field, but have contributed to the advancements in program excellence and best practices in the Basic Literacy Program.

Elise Bruml

Elise Bruml Elise Bruml retired from the LCNV staff this year after ten years of service, but in addition to her staff work-week of 48 – 55 hours per week, Elise also put in countless volunteer hours. She first came to LCNV in 1998 as an ESOL Tutor, and worked with a student for six years. During this same time period she became a volunteer Placement Advisor, putting in countless volunteer hours. When Elise joined the staff in 2004, she continued with both volunteer tutoring and placement advisor work, and managed to join the ESOL Tutor Training team, answer nearly 100 quarterly reports every quarter, field hundreds of calls from volunteer tutors, research best practices in the field of ESOL education, review the best text books for the program and the resource library, conduct student intakes and evaluations, start a computer literacy program and the list goes on and on. Elise works like the Energizer Bunny on steroids. She would never say no to any extra work, or to any student who needed to learn, or to any volunteer who needed advice. To Elise, there were not enough hours in the day to serve the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia. Elise retired from the “part-time” staff position she held for ten years. Now she is “only” volunteering as a part of the training team and as a placement advisor and as an ESOL classroom substitute teacher, and as a BEST Plus assessment specialist. We can’t imagine what Elise is doing with all of her free time now that she has “retired.” Martin Smith Martin Smith has been an Office Volunteer helping primarily the ESOL Tutoring and Basic Literacy Tutoring program for ten years. Martin is as regular as a workday, showing up at 9:30 every Tuesday and working until 12:30 or 1:00 quietly and consistently with data-entry or filing, typing quarterly reports, putting together volunteer packets, or taking inventory of books. There isn’t anything Martin won’t do. He comes in with a smile, a great sense of humor, checks the basket of work the staff has ready for him, and gets to work. So often we take for granted the people who are consistent, low-maintenance, and quietly productive. After ten years and hundreds of hours of service, LCNV is not taking Martin for granted. Martin has for so long provided much-needed administrative support, so critical to the program’s success, we almost consider him a staff member. We cannot thank him enough.

Martin Smith

“Of course, volunteering is service to others, but it is also service to oneself. I have found that volunteering at LCNV has been such a positive experience for me over the last ten years because of those I have worked with. Each staff member and volunteer I have met at LCNV has shown me that a small group of caring, thoughtful and committed people can make a big impact on the lives of learners.”–Martin Smith LCNV │Page 47

LCNV thanks its Legacy Circle Donors, each giving in excess of $50,000 total from July 1, 2004 to May 31, 2014: Anonymous Family Foundation

Philip L. Graham Fund

Kellar Family

Beverly M. Newport

Quaker Hill

Foundation

Memorial Fund

Foundation

Adele M. Thomas Charitable Foundation

Washington Forrest Foundation

®

During its current fiscal year (July 1, 2013 - May 31, 2014), LCNV also received generous contibutions from the following: Gold Level ($10,000 - $24,999) BJ’s Charitable Foundation | Eldon Beau Boulter | Cox Charities | John Edward Fowler Memorial Foundation | Estate of Sally D. Liff United Way of the National Capital Area Silver Level ($5,000 - $9,999) Giving Circle of Hope | Heart of America Foundation | Janelle Kempel | KIHOMAC, Inc. | Northrop Grumman Employees Charity Organization (ECHO) |Howard & Patsy Norton | Victor Pa & May Wu-Pa | Wells Fargo Bronze Level ($1,000 - $4,499) Rob Abbot & Claire Cifaloglio | ACT for Alexandria | Anonymous (2) | Arlington Community Foundation | Carol Ashworth | Sumit & Sudeshna Banerjee | Avis E. Black | Phil & Ann Marie Borkowski | Elise Bruml & Gary Burtless | Charles and Eileen Byrne | Paul and Sandra Byrne | Patricia R. Campbell |Caplan Family Fund | The Charles Delmar Foundation | Dominion Foundation | Patricia M. Donnelly | Eileen Fisher | ExxonMobil Foundation Matching Gifts Program | Kathleen D. Habeger Living Trust | Carl W. Mangum Jr. and Marguerite S. Mangum Fund of the Hampton Roads Community Foundation | Freddie Mac Workplace Giving Campaign | Jane & Todd Ihrig | Franz & Sarah Jaggar |Joel Katz & Mary Detweiler | Knights of Columbus-Family of Man Council 7566 |John & Elizabeth Miklos | Maple Tree Fund | Mary Ann & Joseph Nocerino | John Odenwelder & Nancy Noonan | Kitty Porterfield | Emily Rainville | Rotary Club of Annandale | Rotary Club of Crystal CityPentagon | Rotary Club of Vienna | Jean Schiro-Zavela and Vance Zavela| Jonathan L. & Anne M. Spear | Steele Family Foundation | Jeremy R. Stoppelman | Megan E. Sullivan | Krista Sweigart | Target | Saurabh & Sonali Verma | Sheila & Norman E. Weiss | St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church | Maureen & Brent Yacobucci | William S. Zloth | Lori B. Zukin

*Due to space limitations, donors who gave less than $1,000 are not listed in this publication. LCNV │Page 48

BOARD OFFICERS

COMMUNITY ADVISORY BOARD

CLASSROOM INSTRUCTORS

Kitty Porterfield, President Partner, Porterfield & Carnes Communications, Inc.

Elsa Angell Rena Baker Avis Black Doug Brammer Sam Clay Lee Collins Mark Emblidge Marissa Martineau Rep. James P. Moran William Newport Del. Ken Plum Susan Thaler

Virginia Chavez Laurie Hayden Elizabeth Magee Beverly Thomas Sheila Weiss Shahida Zubair

John Odenwelder, Vice President Director, Northern Virginia Family Service Pragati (Peggy) Balsawer Secretary Federal Housing Finance Agency Nancy Burns, Treasurer Vice President, First Citizens Bank, DC Metro Market

STAFF

Robert Abbot Independent Nonprofit Organization Management Professional

Concepcion Arenas, Office Manager

Sumit Banerjee Managing Director of Strategy, Accenture Mary Ellen Bowers Independent Nonprofit Organization Management Professional Sarah (Sally) Jaggar Senior Consultant, Partnership for Public Service Ki Ho Kang Chief Executive Officer, KIHOMAC Anupam Kumar Manager, Education Services Blackboard Inc. Anne Spear LCNV Basic Training Team, LCNV Tutor Saurabh Verma Senior Director, Global Services, Acumen Solutions Ray Uhalde Jobs for the Future Lori Zukin Principal, Booz Allen Hamilton

Patricia Donnelly, Executive Director

Ruba Marshood Afzal, Director of Volunteers Carole Vinograd Bausell, Director, Tutoring Programs Nathan Caruso, Programs Assistant, Tutoring Department

AMERICORPS TEAM Ruba Afzal AmeriCorps Program Coordinator AmeriCorps Members: Shani Brown Tristen Mimiaga Xavier Muñoz C. Renato Jaramillo-Villa

For this and other publications, please visit the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia’s website: www. lcnv.org or contact: Development Department

Literacy Council of Northern Virginia

2855 Annandale Road Fall Church, VA 22042 TEL: (703) 237-0866 FAX: (703) 237-2863 EMAIL: [email protected]

Natalie Espinoza, Executive Assistant Erin Finn, Director of Classroom Programs Michelle Hall-Norvell Communications Specialist

facebook.com/litcouncilnova

flickr.com/photos/lcnv

Tony Hopkins Volunteer Trainings Coordinator Waddah M. Kittab, Information Technology Specialist Ashley King, Student Advisor

twitter.com/lcnv

lcnvblog.wordpress.com

Sree Kumar Director of Development Carisa Coburn Pineda, Family Learning Program Specialist Mary Tack, Development Assistant Serife Turkol, ESOL Learning Centers Specialist

LCNV │Page 49

For more information about the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia, please visit:

w w w.lcnv.org