First Literacy 2021-2022 Scholars

Here are just a few of the inspiring stories of the First Literacy 2021-2022 continuing scholars.

Thays

Thays was raised in a very poor and dangerous community in Brazil. Her family worked hard to ensure she was safe and could pursue her education. In...

Bushrah

Bushrah was born in Uganda. She is the oldest of five siblings and the first in her family to attend college. Her time in the U.S. has not been...

Jocelyne

Jocelyne was just 16 years old when she left her home country of Haiti. Her father did not enroll her in school when she lived in Haiti, so she made...

Maria

In 1999 Maria completed her bachelor’s degree at the University of Unicerp in Patrocinio, Brazil. During college and after graduation she worked as...

Viktorija

Viktorija moved to the United States from Latvia and attended high school in a small town outside of Boston. At the age of 18 she moved away from a...

Marie

Marie moved to the United States from Haiti with her two daughters in 2016. She moved to the United States with the hope of providing her family...

Valentina

Valentina came to the United States from Colombia. When she arrived the language was foreign, the culture unknown, and the environment vastly...

Qiaomin

Qiaomin is from China, where she attended college before moving to the U.S. in 2019. During the coronavirus pandemic, Qiaomin lost her part-time job...

Hanae

Hanae came to the United States in 2016 when she got married. She studied French and graduated with a specialty in Hospitality Management from the...

Christian

Christian grew up in a single parent household that struggled to make ends meet and was plagued with alcoholism. With the help of public aid,...

Khadija

From Casablanca, Morocco, Khadija came to the United States in 2016 looking for better opportunities. She was a star student throughout all her...

Doris

Doris is from the Central American country of Guatemala. She arrived in the United States when she was just 15 years old. She didn’t speak any...

Kherrina

Kherrina is from Kingston, Jamaica – a city known for its vibrant night life and severe economic hardship. Her childhood was not easy. She grew up...

Mark

When Mark suddenly lost his father in July of 2020, his life was turned upside down. He grew up watching his father work hard every day, and wanted...

Diana

Diana is from the Dominican Republic where much of the country lives in poverty. She is the first in her family to move to the United States looking...

Brima

Brima is from Sierra Leone, West Africa – a country that has experienced an 11-year civil war, an Ebola virus epidemic, mudslides, flooding,...

Yves

Yves was born and raised in Haiti. When Yves arrived in the U.S. she was met with many challenges. As a single mother of three, Yves struggled to...

Lilian

Lilian came to the United States with her husband and two children to get away from violence that disrupted her family in Brazil. Her first year in...

Katia

In 2005 Katia immigrated to the United States from Brazil. She came to the U.S. in order to receive the training and financial backing necessary to...

Karen

When Karen came to the United States from Columbia, she knew that to succeed and understand this new culture she needed to learn the language. Karen...

First Literacy 2020-2021 Scholars

Here are just a few of the inspiring stories of the First Literacy 2020-2021 continuing scholars.

Thays

Thays was raised in a very poor and dangerous community in Brazil. Her family worked hard to ensure she was safe and could pursue her education. In...

Nicole

Nicole was a journalist in her home country of Haiti for 20 years. She was forced to leave Haiti because of volatile political situations bearing...

Rosene

Rosene came to the United States from Haiti with the dream of attending college and creating a better life for her and her family. When she arrived...

Thi Kim

Thi Kim immigrated to the United States from Vietnam in 2017. Not speaking English was a major obstacle to Thi Kim’s goal of attending university....

Julio

Julio faced serious challenges in high school including the loss of his grandmother, forcing him to live alone. Julio needed to work full time in...

Jennifer

Jennifer was born and raised in Puerto Rico and arrived in the United States in 2018. Jennifer has worked extremely hard since arriving in the...

Javier

Javier was born in Paterson, New Jersey, has lived in New York City and now lives in Fitchburg MA. Javier was raised in a family that did not value...

Luis

Luis attended elementary school in his small village in El Salvador, but high school and university required travel to a bigger town, a trip that...

Adriana

After waiting for almost ten years for her green card, Adriana was finally able to come to the United States from El Salvador. With business...

Marie

Marie came to Boston eight years ago when the United States welcomed victims of Haiti’s 7.2 earthquake in 2010. She stayed with friends, found work...

Jocelyne

Jocelyne was just 16 years old when she left her home country of Haiti. Her father did not enroll her in school when she lived in Haiti, so she made...

Brima

Brima is from Sierra Leone, West Africa – a country that has experienced an 11-year civil war, an Ebola virus epidemic, mudslides, flooding,...

Lilian

Lilian came to the United States with her husband and two children to get away from violence that disrupted her family in Brazil. Her first year in...

Katia

In 2005 Katia immigrated to the United States from Brazil. She came to the U.S. in order to receive the training and financial backing necessary to...

Karen

When Karen came to the United States from Columbia, she knew that to succeed and understand this new culture she needed to learn the language. Karen...

Damus

Damus came to Boston eight years ago when the United States welcomed victims of Haiti’s magnitude 7.2 earthquake in 2010. She stayed with friends,...

Julia

Julia was born and raised in East Boston. With an unconventional upbringing, she and her siblings did not attend school or see doctors. Julia’s...

Gabriela

Gabriela grew up in Venezuela with a love of books inspired by her mother. Outside of her studies she worked on social projects in Caracas, attended...

Yane

Yane faced many challenges when she arrived in the United States in 2019. She needed to balance a full-time job, care for her young son, and...

Joel

Joel came to the United States in 1999, in search of a better future. In his home country of Peru, he faced national unrest, economic depression,...

First Literacy 2019-2020 Scholars

Here are just a few of the inspiring stories of the First Literacy 2019-2020 continuing scholars.

Oumaima

Oumaima was always talented in math and languages, learning English as a third language at the age of twelve. Unfortunately, cultural restrictions...

Luis

Luis attended elementary school in his small village in El Salvador, but high school and university required travel to a bigger town, a trip that...

Izabella

Born in Brazil, Izabella was left with her grandparents when her single mother went abroad to work. She was seventeen and a sophomore in high school...

Livanny

Livanny grew up in the Dominican Republic where she graduated from high school in the top five percent and served in the volunteer military service....

Tatiana Jean

Though Tatiana lost her parents early in Haiti, she studied, worked hard, and completed high school and a university business degree. Over the next...

Axel

After years of educational challenges, Axel found the JVS Adult Diploma Pathway, where, with his own hard work and the dedication and patience of...

Geraldine

At seven, Geraldine suffered severe burns in a fire at her home outside Lima, Peru. After a year at a local hospital she was among the most critical...

Stephan

Stephan, a native of Haiti, knew he wanted to be a nurse when he was six years old. Later in North Miami Beach High, he volunteered for health...

Vu

Vu arrived in the United States from Vietnam in August 2014 with his wife, son, and daughter. He studied English at St. Mark’s Community Education...

Allexandre

Alex is an artist from Cape Verde where he earned a degree in ecotourism. He was an air traffic controller before emigrating to the US to escape an...

Adriana

After waiting for almost ten years for her green card, Adriana was finally able to come to the United States from El Salvador. With business...

Marie

Marie came to Boston eight years ago when the United States welcomed victims of Haiti’s 7.2 earthquake in 2010. She stayed with friends, found work...

Judelande

Judelande grew up in Haiti as the fourth of nine children. Due to financial constraints, Judelande, who had always wanted to attend college, was...

Jocelyne

Jocelyne was just 16 years old when she left her home country of Haiti. Her father did not enroll her in school when she lived in Haiti, so she made...

Yves

Yves was born and raised in Haiti. When Yves arrived in the U.S. she was met with many challenges. As a single mother of three, Yves struggled to...

Karen

When Karen came to the United States from Columbia, she knew that to succeed and understand this new culture she needed to learn the language. Karen...

Damus

Damus came to Boston eight years ago when the United States welcomed victims of Haiti’s magnitude 7.2 earthquake in 2010. She stayed with friends,...

Julia

Julia was born and raised in East Boston. With an unconventional upbringing, she and her siblings did not attend school or see doctors. Julia’s...

Gabriela

Gabriela grew up in Venezuela with a love of books inspired by her mother. Outside of her studies she worked on social projects in Caracas, attended...

Ariela

Ariela moved from Cape Verde to Lisbon, Portugal with her single mother when she was fifteen. She struggled with the transition, dropped out of...

First Literacy 2018-2019 Scholars

Here are just a few of the inspiring stories of the First Literacy 2018-2019 continuing scholars.

Jennifer

Jennifer is the first Colombian-American in her family, and the first to pursue a college education. In high school she was a talented violinist but...

Oumaima

Oumaima was always talented in math and languages, learning English as a third language at the age of twelve. Unfortunately, cultural restrictions...

Priscilla

Priscilla finished middle school in Hong Kong before emigrating to the United States in 1980. When she arrived in the U.S. she went right to work at...

Dimas

When Dimas was 18 years old, he arrived in the United States from El Salvador with his family. Unable to speak English he could only find work with...

Junying (Ethan)

When Junying moved to the US from China, he had very poor English language skills, but that did not stop him from trying to achieve his dreams. He...

Marie Regine

As a mother of a disabled daughter in Haiti, Marie needed to leave her home country to get the services needed for her daughter. Marie’s positive...

Patrick

Patrick was born and raised in Cameroon where education is very expensive. When his mother passed away in 2008, Patrick left school to work so his...

Eliene

When Eliene moved to the US from Brazil, she spoke no English. As a mother with three children and a husband who worked, it was hard to find English...

Girlene

As a mother of two boys, Girlene came to the United States looking for a better life for her family. She did not go to college in her home country...

Diandra

Growing up in Boston, life was challenging for Diandra. She dropped out of high school at age 15 due to a challenging family dynamic and ten years...

Sherita

A single mother of two young children from Jamaica, Sherita was determined to end the cycle of poverty for her family. She completed a successful...

Kamala

Kamala moved to the US from Thailand in 2014 to care for her ill stepfather. After caring for many sick family members in both the U.S. and...

Dora

Dora graduated from high school in Guatemala and earned a degree in elementary education, but when she arrived in the US with no English language...

Vu

Vu arrived in the United States from Vietnam in August 2014 with his wife, son, and daughter. He studied English at St. Mark’s Community Education...

Allexandre

Alex is an artist from Cape Verde where he earned a degree in ecotourism. He was an air traffic controller before emigrating to the US to escape an...

Adriana

After waiting for almost ten years for her green card, Adriana was finally able to come to the United States from El Salvador. With business...

Jocelyne

Jocelyne was just 16 years old when she left her home country of Haiti. Her father did not enroll her in school when she lived in Haiti, so she made...

Yves

Yves was born and raised in Haiti. When Yves arrived in the U.S. she was met with many challenges. As a single mother of three, Yves struggled to...

Karen

When Karen came to the United States from Columbia, she knew that to succeed and understand this new culture she needed to learn the language. Karen...