Oakland Adult and Career Education course helps student fulfill 25-year goal of American citizenship
Ermelinda Velasquez had dreamed about obtaining her American citizenship since she arrived in the country a quarter-century ago. For the past decade, she’s worked in fast food restaurants, but wanted the career and life opportunities for herself and her children that citizenship could provide. When she found Oakland Adult Career and Education’s (OACE) ESL citizenship class, it was just what she needed.
Velasquez realized this dream in January 2024. She says that without the preparation and training she received at OACE for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) naturalization interview and test, she wouldn’t be the citizen she is today.
“I wasn’t able to understand anything watching YouTube videos, or even reading books because I wasn’t even able to read. That’s why I went to the school, where I was actually able to learn. I wanted to go to be in-person with people like me,” she says through an interpreter. “It’s really important to be a citizen in this country so you can be able to be here. That’s pretty much everybody’s dream, to be a citizen.”
“That’s pretty much everybody’s dream, to be a citizen.”
Ermelinda Velasquez, U.S. citizen and Oakland Adult and Career Education student
Velasquez says that while preparing for the test was difficult, the educational and emotional support she found with her teachers was critical to her success. After applying for citizenship in October of last year, she was sworn in in January 2024.
“By the glory of God, I became a citizen, and thanks to my teacher as well,” Velasquez says. “The teacher was really great, she had a lot of patience with me and repeated herself so many times because I couldn’t read, because I didn’t go to school.”
For so many students like Velasquez, adult school programs like OACE are just the start of their new lives and careers.
“It’s a bridge to your goals, it’s a bridge to your community, it’s a bridge to college,” says Kim Jones, director of Oakland Adult and Career Education. “That’s the beauty of adult school, it’s a bridge to anywhere, whether that be your career or whether that means getting more involved in your community.”
For now, Velasquez is enjoying her new citizenship status, working and caring for her family. While she doesn’t have any concrete plans yet, she is sure she wants to continue her education.
“My first plan was to become a citizen so I could have a better job and be able to build a better future for my kids,” she says. “After that I would like to go to Mexico and see my family because my family is the most important thing for me and it’s been a little while since I’ve seen them. Once I’m back, I’m going to start learning English of course.”
To find out more about OACE’s free ESL programs, including citizenship, family literacy and college and career readiness, visit www.ousd.org/adult-and-career-education or call 510-879-1400.
Written by Anne Stokes
| Regions | Classes |
|---|---|
| Bay Area California | English as a Second Language |
