The Power of ESL
Before moving to the United States in 2013 and connecting with Bridging For Tomorrow almost 10 years later, Reina underwent many challenges. While living in her home country, El Salvador, she studied hard, earned her psychology degree, and began her dream career. Once she and her husband moved to the United States, she quickly learned that her dreams of bringing that career with her would not come without trials and tribulations. Reina found the first few years in the United States difficult, especially when searching for jobs. Her lack of confidence in speaking, reading, and writing English was holding her back time and time again. While Reina was a stay-at-home mom after her son was born, she still had this longing to learn English and work in the psychology field.In 2020, Reina lost her husband. Now, as a widowed, single mother, she was even more determined to pursue her dreams. She decided to apply for citizenship, continue to learn English, and do whatever was needed to ensure she and her son would have a great future. By the end of 2022, after intense preparation, Reina passed the citizenship test! 
The distance from El Salvador to Houston, Tx is about 1,200 miles.
Reina then reached out to Lone Star College to inquire about the opportunities for English classes. Although the closer to home classes were unavailable, the advisor shared a partnership with a local organization, Bridging For Tomorrow. Reina shared, “Even though it was a little far, I didn’t have a job during the day and I was looking for work. I needed to learn English and I could not find a class that was open or worked for me, but the class at Bridging For Tomorrow worked for my schedule.” 
Reina is very proud of herself and grateful for Bridging For Tomorrow’s support..
Just a couple of weeks later, she began English classes at the Bridging For Tomorrow community center. Reina consistently attended the classes and enjoyed interacting and making friends with the other students. It was comforting to be in community with other ladies who were working on the same goal, gaining confidence in English.“I want to get back into my profession, which is psychology. ”
Around the middle of the semester, the students began preparing for their midterm exam. Part of their preparation was to role play a job interview with their instructor, Mr. Pete. They learned job application vocabulary, how to complete an application, and practiced answering interview questions both verbally and in writing. Less than a week after the job interview unit ended and the students completed their exams, Reina received a call about a job opening. Her future was starting to look brighter. “I had been looking for work for a long time and my friend finally reached out to me and told me to apply for a job that required a background in psychology. Of course I was nervous because it was all in English, but when I started on the application, I was so much more confident…It looked familiar to me because I had just practiced it in ESL class!”With the help of Bridging For Tomorrow’s ESL program and Mr. Pete’s intentional lessons, Reina successfully and confidently submitted her job application. She was thrilled to call Mr. Pete and thank him for how purposeful and applicable the interview unit turned out to be. She expressed how proud of herself she felt and how eager she was about the possibilities ahead. Shortly after, Reina received the good news: she landed the job!
At the end of the semester, there was a celebration held for all of the ESL students at Bridging For Tomorrow to congratulate them on their goals, accomplishments, and perseverance.After the celebration, Reina sincerely shared, “I received a lot of support from my late husband, he always pushed me to learn English, so that one day, I could continue in my psychology career.” With Reina's amazing drive, coupled with her husband's support and the perfect timing of ESL classes at Bridging For Tomorrow, we see the beautiful reality she is now walking in. 
Reina at the ESL celebration, receiving a special gift for her accomplishment.
