October 18, 2019

When she moved to the U.S. 15 years ago, Maria Luz Dominguez (Lucy) didn’t know a lot of English. She said that the English she had learned in Mexico is very different from the English here. Therefore, it was a challenge for her to pronounce certain words, but Lucy didn’t let any barriers keep her from reaching her goals of writing/speaking fluent English and earning her HSE (High School Equivalency). 

It has taken years of dedication for Lucy to learn English; she spends time everyday practicing and comes to our ESL classes 3 times a week. She says that she doesn’t always believe in herself, but her ESL Instructor, Gretchen Easterday, always tells her, “You can do it!” Well… Lucy did do it! She just earned her HSE and said it was a very proud moment.

“I am proud of myself because at my age, I still can’t believe I did it! I cried… I was so happy!”

Lucy is continuing to learn English and hopes to one day become a social worker because she loves helping people. She wants others to know, “If I can do it, everybody can do it. Some people say they are too old, but everybody can! I hope other people see this and believe they can do it! I’m so happy. I want to keep going!”