How one woman used adult education as the first step in her road forward
The Delta Sierra Adult Education Consortium in San Joaquin County is focused on helping people from all backgrounds overcome barriers to education and employment, leading them to opportunities and success.
Veronica Flores was certainly a likely candidate when she moved from Mexico to the U.S. in 2006. “I didn’t know much English and I couldn’t communicate the way I can now,” she says.
That began to change dramatically when she moved from Arizona to Stockton in 2010. “I’d had an education in Mexico, but I didn’t have one here, but I like learning,” says Flores, 54. “I learned to be a hard worker from my family—not with my back, but with my head.”
“Had it not been for adult education, I think I would have learned English the wrong way or maybe I wouldn’t have learned it at all.”
Veronica Flores, Assistant to the Dean, San Joaquin Delta College Health Sciences Division
Flores summoned the determination to change her life’s course over the coming years. Her first stop was the School for Adults in the Stockton Unified School District, where she earned a certificate in English as a Second Language and a High School Equivalency certificate.
“Learning English and being able to communicate and being able to understand what I was studying opened up a new world of opportunities,” she says. “Had it not been for adult education, I think I would have learned English the wrong way or maybe I wouldn’t have learned it at all.”
Her newfound literacy sparked her next move, to San Joaquin Delta College, where she left with an associate’s degree in accounting. Flores went from there to the University of the Pacific, earning a bachelor of science degree in organizational behavior in 2017.
Then it was back for more adult education for her state license as a medical administrative assistant, which enabled her to get her present job as administrative assistant to the dean of the San Joaquin Delta College Health Sciences Division.
Being bilingual “is a big advantage” on the job, Flores says. “We have a lot of Spanish-speaking people who feel more comfortable communicating with a Spanish-speaker.”
What was the motivation behind Flores’ arduous academic journey?
“It was to give a better life to my son, Erin (now 20), my parents and myself,” Flores says. “Also, I’m the oldest of three sisters, so I’ve always felt that I should set an example for them.”
What advice does she have for others beginning their own journeys?
“I would tell those from other countries who have come here for a better future that it starts with education, which begins with learning English,” she says. “That’s huge. It will open doors for anybody.”
For more information on the School for Adults in Stockton Unified School District, visit stocktonusd.net/SchoolForAdults or call 209-933-7455.
Written by Allen Pierleoni
| Regions | Classes |
|---|---|
| Central California | Careers in Health Care – English as a Second Language – High School |
