Student Profiles from
Workforce ESOL Program
Juditte
Juditte is from the Ivory Coast. In her home country she worked long hours in an office but often did not get paid, so she decided to emigrate to the United States where she could live with her sister and send the money she earned back home to her mother, husband and two children. Juditte wanted to start learning English when she arrived in 2020 but found that many programs were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, she learned about CASA’s Workforce ESOL Program in 2021 and has been attending classes ever since. At first Juditte worked as a babysitter, but now she is a live-in homecare aide. She says, “if not for the classes, the only time I speak English is at work with the elderly person I care for.” Fortunately, she quickly attended enough Workforce ESOL classes to earn a scholarship for the Life Skills ESOL Program. Juditte says, “my plan is to maybe know enough English by the end of 2024 to stop taking classes. In one to two years I want to get a certificate as a homecare aid or childcare worker, get a house and open a childcare center.” Having now attended three consecutive sessions of CASA’s Life Skills ESOL Program and advancing to a high intermediate level of English proficiency, Juditte is well on her way to achieving these long-term professional and personal goals.
