Thanks to Torrance Adult School’s ESL and Pharmacy Technician programs, Caixia Jiang now has better career opportunities than ever
In 2015, Caixia Jiang made a decision that would change her life. “I had gotten depressed because my English was poor,” says Jiang, a native of China. “I wanted to change myself to be stronger and more confident.” So, in 2015, at the advice of a friend, she enrolled in an English as a Second Language course at Torrance Adult School.
Today, Jiang credits the school for not only her improved English language skills, but also for placing her on the path to an in-demand career as a pharmacy technician.
TAS program offerings include Career Technical Education, ESL and citizenship classes, as well as basic education, high school diploma and high school equivalency classes. Moreover, the classes are free of charge. “We always try to provide accessible, high quality educational opportunities to empower our students with the knowledge and skills they need to pursue any academic career or personal goals,” says Baron Sia, TAS Career Coordinator.
“I’m preparing for my American dream, which has started.”
Caixia Jiang, TAS graduate
Jiang says that after enrolling at TAS, she took an assessment test to determine the level of her existing English language skills and place her in the right ESL class. While she loved learning a new language in her ESL classes, she also enjoyed meeting and making friends with classmates like herself from places such as China and Japan.
Besides the course and the social connections, Jiang also liked TAS’s flexibility, giving students the choice of how they want to attend class. “Students have the option of either attending in person like a traditional class, or they can live stream it at home or on Zoom,” Sia says. Jiang says attending her ESL and high school equivalency classes online made it possible for her to study at home whenever her child was sick.
After completing her ESL classes and earning her high school diploma, she felt confident enough to enroll in the school’s pharmacy technician program. Pharmacy tech is one of the most in-demand CTE programs in the school’s Allied Health division, which includes courses in medical billing and coding, and a medical assistant program, Sia says.
“My heart was trembling throughout the Besides Allied Health, TAS offers other CTE courses such as accounting, business, finance and childcare. “Fortunately,” says Sia, “all of our instructors have actual industry experience.”
Jiang says that at first, she struggled to learn medical terminology in her pharmacy technician classes and worried that she would fail. study. I had to review what I learned right away because I had to take a test every week. But as I followed Ms. Wang’s lead step by step, I reached the end of the class. It’s truly incredible,” she says. Once she passed her coursework, Jiang entered a 120-hour externship at a local Walgreens pharmacy last summer.
“Ms. Wang provided several tutoring lessons. So, I had more confidence to take the PTCB test. Luckily, I passed the test [the first] time,” she says. But, to help strengthen her knowledge, Jiang enrolled in an additional medical terminology class in September 2023. “I learned a lot of medical words about body parts and disease,” she says. “Then, at last, the Walmart pharmacist called me and [they] wanted to give me a part-time pharmacy technician position. I was so happy that I was finally starting my career.”
Today, she is employed by Walmart after getting her state pharmacy technician license and passing the National Pharmacy Technician Certification Board exam.
As a matter of fact, TAS CTE graduates like Jiang are in high demand among local employers.
“A lot of the places that we work with in the community hold our students in high regard. They’re always looking for students from TAS because they know that they’re knowledgeable, that they’re high-quality workers, their work ethic is good, and they know the job inside and out,” says Sia.
Jiang says she is grateful to her instructors for helping her reach her career and education goals. “I’m preparing for my American dream, which has started.”
To learn more about Torrance Adult School, visit https://www.tusd.org/tas
Written by Gail Allyn Short
| Regions | Classes |
|---|---|
| South Coast California | English as a Second Language |
