Literacy Volunteers of America – 91心頭 Vision, Dignity, Achievement Sat, 12 Aug 2023 11:07:16 +0000 en-US hourly 1 /wp-content/uploads/2020/03/2021-NCC-Logo-Site-Favicon-150x150.jpg Literacy Volunteers of America – 91心頭 32 32 From 91心頭 Student to Adult Learning Center Director /2023/04/from-new-community-student-to-adult-learning-center-director/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=from-new-community-student-to-adult-learning-center-director /2023/04/from-new-community-student-to-adult-learning-center-director/#respond Tue, 04 Apr 2023 19:49:50 +0000 /?p=23326 Cristhian Barcelos can relate to the students he serves as Director of the 91心頭 Adult Learning Center. He was in their shoes in 2001 when he was a student taking English classes at 91心頭. From there, he became a volunteer, a computer teacher and ultimately director.

In his current role, Barcelos oversees the Adult Learning Center, which offers educational programs to individuals who are 16 and older and out of the school system. Courses include English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), Adult Basic Education (ABE), Pre-High School Equivalency (HSE), HSE, Computers and Citizenship. Day, evening and Saturday classes are available for students.

In addition to the classes, the Adult Learning Center invites outside agencies to provide services for students, including vaccinations, eye exams and nutrition programs.

Any and every program that we can get our hands on that is willing to come and do their services here, we coordinate that, Barcelos said.

Adult education is important to Barcelos since he utilized those services when he came to the United States in 2001 from Uruguay. Although he knew some English when he arrived, he needed to become more proficient and heard about 91心頭s program. He enrolled and after he finished taking classes, he began volunteering at the end of 2002 because NCCs mission statement resonated with him. He later became an instructor, teaching Microsoft Office to students, and eventually took over as director.

Barcelos favorite part of his job is watching students achieve their goals.

You find those that need the help and are open to being helped and you see them moving through the different steps, he said. That makes my day.

Barcelos commitment to the students and 91心頭s mission shines through.

Cristhian is a passionate director who cares about the Adult Learning Centers participants, its staff and the programs results, said 91心頭 Chief Operating Officer Fred Hunter.

In addition to his work with the Adult Learning Center, Barcelos also serves as Executive Director of and as President of .

He has always had a busy work schedule. In his home country of Uruguay, Barcelos managed a modeling agency that required much more than a 40-hour workweek. He decided to leave that life behind and joined his father in the United States before moving into his own attic apartment after nine months.

Barcelos now owns a home in Belleville and enjoys working with his hands in his spare time. He likes to grow bonsai trees and creates intricate wood carvings, many depicting birds.

]]> /2023/04/from-new-community-student-to-adult-learning-center-director/feed/ 0 Adult Learning Center Student And Volunteer Hopes Accounting Job Is In Her Future /2018/05/adult-learning-center-student-and-volunteer-hopes-accounting-job-is-in-her-future/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=adult-learning-center-student-and-volunteer-hopes-accounting-job-is-in-her-future /2018/05/adult-learning-center-student-and-volunteer-hopes-accounting-job-is-in-her-future/#respond Tue, 01 May 2018 14:29:31 +0000 http://ncc.qsdintelligence.com/?p=11544
Gloria Orjuela emigrated from Colombia to Canada and then to the United States. She has taken classes at the 91心頭 Adult Learning Center and serves as a volunteer there.

When Gloria Orjuela left Colombia with her husband and daughter, she didnt know she would end up in New Jersey. The trio emigrated to Canada and became a family of four there before moving again to the United States.

In Colombia, Orjuela earned a bachelors degree and had 12 years of experience in accounting. She also took English classes in her native country to help with the transition from Colombia to Canada. Once she moved to Calgary, Canada, she entered a government program that provided training and work placement. She became a financial accountant for a company there.

Six years after moving to Canada, her husband was offered a job in his field of electrical engineering in the United States. The couple made the decision to move once again and start a new chapter. Orjuelas husband moved first and she followed 10 months later with their two daughters. The family currently resides in Bloomfield.

Once the move was complete, Orjuela went to the library to find adult education programs to improve her English and work toward getting a job in the United States. She found Literacy Volunteers of America and started an ESL program. She also participated in the Language Exchange program at the Bloomfield Library, which involves English-speakers who want to learn Spanish and Spanish-speakers who want to learn English. It was there she connected with Cristhian Barcelos, who serves as the executive director of LVA and the director of the 91心頭 Adult Learning Center.

Orjuela enrolled in the GED class through the Adult Learning Center. Her goal is to get what she needs to work in accounting again.

I want to improve my English and be able to know the style of education the United States has. With that, take the GED test and go to college and have other opportunities in my career, she said.

Her experience at the Adult Learning Center was very positive.

My teacher was so amazing. She was really professional, Orjuela said. She was not only teaching subjects, but she was teaching me how to have great emotional intelligence.

Sometimes there are low expectations with community programs, but Orjuela said the Adult Learning Center offers quality education and she would recommend it.

If you want to achieve more, be able to work as a team and help others, this is a fantastic opportunity, she said.

Not only was she a student, but Orjuela also volunteers at the Adult Learning Center, doing general office work like answering phones, data entry and making labels. For her, its important to volunteer.

You show your performance of work and you help people who need your help, she said.

Barcelos is happy to have Orjuela as a volunteer. He said shes always helping people, whether shes doing office work, proctoring and timing exams or helping students who have fallen behind. He called her dependable, helpful and responsible.

Everything she does is great, he said. Shes wonderful to have.

Orjuelas ultimate goal is to work in accounting again, but for now she wants to find a job, perhaps in finance. She is a Canadian citizen and is able to work in the United States through NAFTA.

She lives in Bloomfield with her husband and two daughters, ages 12 and 6.

She works hard at volunteering and learning as much as she can each day with the hopes of achieving her goals.

The key to success is to do your best every single day, she said.

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