We had our last day of daytime classes today. We spent ten months online together and we’re grateful to our students and teachers who stuck it out and we look forward to seeing everybody in September. Here are class photos from the last day of class….
Tag: university settlement
Weekend Class Photos
Literacy Review Revisited
Literacy Review Volume 19 is out now! Here’s one story by University Settlement Adult Literacy Program W1 student Cesar Rojas…
Eleven Pets in the House
by Cesar Rojas
The house where I grew up was in an urban area, but it was a very large house with four rooms and a backyard that was also really large. My mom loved animals, but at one time, things got out of control. We had two cats and two dogs. Then, in the same year, they all agreed to get pregnant. The cat had four kittens, and the dog had three puppies. We had eleven pets now in the house. You can’t imagine the noise the dogs made barking and the cats made running on the roof every night.
Since then, I haven’t wanted to have animals anymore.
To listen to Cesar read his story or to read more stories, click here!
Literacy Review Volume 19
The new edition of the Literacy Review is out! The Literacy Review is an annual collection of writing from adult education programs throughout New York City, and it is produced by the NYU Gallatin Writing Program. This year it is available digitally along with audio of the authors reading their work, and four University Settlement Adult Literacy Program students have their writing featured: Evelyn Gonzalez, Laeticia Blanchard, Cesar Rojas, Lichan (Chloe) Yu, and Jackie Leduc. Congratulations, writers!
Click here or on the image above to begin reading!
Star Student Alert!
University Settlement Adult literacy Program student Sofia Latif was recently featured on the Lehman College website for winning both a Boren Award and a Critical Language Scholarship! She is also in our program’s College and Career Readiness class as well as Advanced Writing class. Way to go, Sofia!
From Lehman.edu:
About 20 percent of Americans speak more than one language. Sofia Latif, a third-year Lehman student, speaks seven. Now, thanks to a pair of prestigious study-abroad scholarships, she’s being recognized for her linguistic skills—and is receiving some highly coveted opportunities to sharpen them.
This month, Latif was named a recipient of the Boren Awards, an initiative of the National Security Education Program that funds the study of languages and cultures in regions critical to U.S. interests. She also won a Critical Language Scholarship, a state department program that immerses American college students in intensive instruction of select languages.
Click here to read more!
Reflections on “The Road Not Taken”
Recently W3 students read the Robert Frost poem “The Road Not Taken” and wrote short essays about it. Read a couple below…
My Better Decision
by Carmen
In November 2010, my best friend was in trouble. He was going through a very difficult time, and asked me for help. He was always there for me in my worst moments, he was always a support, and now he needed me.
I was living in another city, eight hours away from him. I asked for permission at my job, but my boss denied it. He really has been the worst boss I have ever had.
So, I found myself between a rock and a hard place. I had two paths; one of them was to help my friend and lose my job, and the other path was, to keep my job and fail the person who had helped and supported me the most.
At the end, the balance tipped towards friendship.
I went to help my friend, and during that week that I was with him, I met who is now my current husband. He was on vacation in Honduras in those days. It was love at first sight!!
From that day until today, I think that having taken that path has been one of the best decisions of my life. Having been loyal to a good friendship it rewards me with the life that I now have. I am not only married to a wonderful man who brought me to this great country, but also I had my lovely son with him.
My life took a 360-degree turn, and I don’t want to imagine what would have happened if I had chosen the other path.
On Robert Frost’s Poem
by Xiaolin
Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken,” is a reflection of our lives because we are always faced with choices in our lives. Choosing between the forks in the road in the woods is like choosing between different directions in life.
When I was about 20 years old I was faced with two different paths in life, whether to stay in my native country, or to broaden my horizons by getting out of my country and continue my education. Finally, I chose to immigrate to the United States to study, which put me on a very different path than my friend. Using English as a language of study was an adventure for me.
Nowadays, I am struggling to finish my college assignments and trying hard to keep myself on track just like my other classmates, who are the native English speakers. I agree that no matter which path you take, you will always regret not taking the other one. Sometimes I wonder if the path of immigrating for education will lead to success at the end, or if I stay in my own country will be a better development of career. But I know I should not regret or complain, but I should take responsibility for my choice and do my best to finish this path I chose.