A mother of four uses noncredit classes to forge a better livelihood
The promise of a better life brought 14-year-old Linda Santos* to the United States 27 years ago. She was among the last of her family’s children to leave Mexico for a fresh start in California. But it wasn’t until years later, when she had children of her own, that she started to seek better educational opportunities. Those came via Allan Hancock College (AHC)’s noncredit courses, which include free and low-cost classes that help people gain job skills, learn English, earn a GED or obtain vocational training in fields such as truck driving, early childhood development, computing and fashion studies.
Santos found it to be an ideal fit for her goals. Since childhood, she’d faced significant challenges. Her father died when she was 10, leaving her mother with nine children. To support them, Santos’ mother emigrated to the U.S., initially leaving eight of her children with relatives in Mexico.
She found work in California farm fields and sent money home for the family. Eventually, she returned to Mexico for three more of her children but had to leave Santos and three of her siblings behind. After saving for over a year, Santos earned enough to bring them to the U.S.
“Coming from another country and being a first-generation college student can be challenging.”
Lucerito Salgado, Noncredit Counseling Coordinator, Allan Hancock College
Life was not much easier in California. As the eldest, Santos managed the household while her mother worked in the strawberry fields. Getting a formal education seemed like it was out of the question.
“I had to stay in the house to take care of the children,” says Santos, who primarily speaks Spanish. “My mom worked every day, starting in the afternoon until 6 or 7 a.m. When she got home, she’d visit with us a bit, then go to bed. I had to cook, care for the kids, get them to school, bathe them.”
Over time, Santos married, had four children of her own and worked in the strawberry fields, just like her mother. Then, in 2009, she learned about Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), the federal program enabling students of undocumented immigrants cto attend school without fear of deportation. Since starting her educational journey as part of DACA, opportunities for success have opened for her.
Over time, Santos has racked up numerous non-credit classes at AHC, taking advantage of a flexible schedule that allows her to still work and raise her children. She’s been learning English and has obtained four certificates including in the fields of floral design and childhood studies. She’s now learning how to use a computer and taking an English conversation course.
Those who have worked with her at AHC say the kinds of challenges she faces can be daunting.
“Coming from another country and being a first-generation college student can be challenging,” says Lucerito Salgado, a noncredit counseling coordinator at AHC who has supported Santos at Hancock. “We’ve helped answer her questions and concerns, let her know the certificate requirements, and we check in to see how she’s doing and if she needs additional support.”
Santos is now putting her new skills to good use. She creates floral arrangements for occasional community events and she and her husband sell homemade Mexican food for special occasions. They both continue to work as farm laborers but she dreams of one day obtaining her license to run a daycare at her family home.
“Everyone at Hancock has helped me a lot,” she says. “Lucerito helped me choose classes to prepare me for a better job or career. They have prepared me well.”
Salgado credits Santos’s persistence and hard work for her success.
“Hermelinda goes above and beyond,” Salgado says. “She shows up and does all the work. It’s so wonderful to see how Hermelinda has grown as a student, a person and a future professional.”
*Not her real name; at the request of the source and the school a pseudonym has been used.
For more information on Allan Hancock College’s noncredit community education programs visit https://www.hancockcollege.edu/communityed/index.php
Written by Dorsey Griffith
| Regions | Classes & Topics |
|---|---|
| South Coast California | English as a Second Language – Variety of Classes |
