Career Technical Education helps adult learners grow
Guided by a code of distinction, with the help of adult education, Evaristo Lopez is bound for a promising future.
The former lieutenant in the Mexican Air Force follows the Japanese concept of continuous self-improvement.
Born in Oaxaca, Mexico, Lopez moved at age 14 to Mexico City, where he studied martial arts while in high school. In those classes, his self-defense instructor imparted that wisdom upon Lopez.
“If you do something excellent today, you must do something better tomorrow,” says Lopez, now 49 and living in Santa Rosa.
Using this tenet, the tireless construction worker has excelled in short-term Career Technical Education (CTE) classes offered by members of the Sonoma County Adult Education Consortium.
“I’m taking these classes solely as a personal objective,” Lopez says. “I don’t know if I’ll go to college later, but right now it’s just part of my continuous self-improvement.”
It’s never too late to go back to school.
Evaristo Lopez
Adult education student
Launched last year, the consortium’s CTE programs offer tuition-free classes for local adults who fall into two categories: Those seeking to advance their career skills and those who want to pursue a new career in fields such as business, the hospitality sector and other professions.
Lopez has taken eight CTE classes, three of which have been taught by Marlyn Garcia, his favorite teacher. Having taken Garcia’s classes in small business development and basic computer skills, Lopez says he knows he’s getting quality education.
“[Professor Garcia] is always well-prepared for her lectures,” he says. “Her classes are never boring.”
Garcia, for her part, has been just as impressed with her student.
“Evaristo is always in class and is always … asking questions,” she says. “He puts a lot of effort [into his studies].”
This summer Garcia will teach Basic Computer Skills, Level 3, with space again reserved for Lopez, who says he owes CTE a debt of gratitude.
At 17 Lopez entered an Air Force military academy in Jalisco state, graduating four years later. He then served four years in the Air Force, proudly wearing his uniform. He immigrated to California in 2001 and took ESL classes in San Jose for over a year before moving to Santa Rosa.
If Lopez enrolls in college, he will pursue a degree in something akin to genetic engineering — fitting for someone good with numbers, which he is.
His dream: to run his own dairy farm/cattle ranch.
“It’s never too late to go back to school,” Lopez says, clearly glad he made that choice.
Written by Edgar Sanchez
| Regions | Classes |
|---|---|
| Bay Area California | Careers in Business-Technology |
