Stanley Gonzalez beats the odds and goes to college
Stanley Gonzalez’s journey to the University of the District of Columbia’s Van Ness Campus has been filled with challenges related to his English language barrier. Against all odds, Gonzalez is striving to obtain a bachelor’s degree in Human Development from the College of Arts and Sciences to work in the District public school system as a bilingual counselor to help immigrants, just like he is thriving academically and in life. Gonzalez is passionate about helping immigrant students and their families overcome English language barriers and challenges he faced in DC public high school, at publicly funded career learning centers, the workplace in construction, and now in his college journey.
Gonzalez came to the United States in 1998 at 14 years old to join his parents and younger brother in Columbia Heights, DC. He spoke only Spanish at that time. In the 1980s, El Salvador was ravaged by a bitter civil war. His parents fled the country to pursue a better life and more opportunities for their children. In Washington, DC, they worked to provide for their three children living with their grandparents.
Reunification took years, but it happened. “My parents worked very hard for years to pay for us to come to the United States,” Gonzalez said. “My brother and sister were so happy to come here.” Living in Columbia Heights, Gonzalez enrolled in 9th grade at Cardozo Education Campus without understanding English. So did his brother and later his sister. Together, they struggled to learn academic and everyday English. It was a rough start. “I did not speak a word in English,” said Gonzalez. “I struggle to communicate in English, but I got help from the Spanish-speaking school counselors.” That helps him to navigate high school life. With built-in English language support classes, he managed to learn English. He graduated from Cardozo with little understanding of what it takes to attend college or how to pay for it.
After graduation, Gonzalez passed on going to college. Instead, he went to a trade school for carpentry and began working in the construction industry to help his parents financially. By 2007, he decided to take another look at going to college. His enrollment at Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School, an adult public charter school with its main campus in Columbia Heights, sparked this hope. There, he started all over again, taking high-level English classes. “I made up my mind to do my best to be successful this time because Carlos Rosario has a lot of bilingual support teachers and support staff to help,” Gonzalez said of his determination to return to school life as a working adult wanting to achieve his college dream.
In 2013, Carlos Rosario opened its workforce development campus, Sonia Gutierrez Campus, near Rhode Island Metro Station. This adult education center provides job training to prepare immigrant students for jobs that are in high demand in the Washington area. Job training areas include the culinary arts, healthcare, education, and information technology. Gonzalez felt drawn to the adult program to improve his life. It was very different from his high school years, and he liked the adult learning environment and exposure to many different career pathways.
Gonzalez then moved on to the Sonia Gutierrez Campus in pursuit of enrolling in the school’s Bilingual Teacher Assistant Program. Still trying to be more confident in his abilities to do college academic work, he took Microsoft Office and computer classes to prepare him for the teaching rigor of the program. The school offers college preparatory advanced English classes, which he enrolled in. There, Gonzalez met his favorite English teacher, who changed his life. Mr. Ladd, known to students, is an English teacher with a journalistic and linguistic background. Gonzalez felt at home in his classroom, excelling in learning English, even taking Mr. Ladd’s class twice in one academic year.
With a better understanding and command of academic English, Gonzalez made the leap to pursue the Bilingual Teacher Assistant program and graduate from it. Then, in 2020, he headed to the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) Community College, which opened in 2009 and is now located near Fort Totten Metro Station. In no time, Gonzalez completed his Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education in 2023.
With that accomplishment, Gonzalez transferred to UDC Van Ness Campus to pursue his bachelor’s degree in education. Now, he is enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences pursuing his bachelor’s degree in Human Development and he enjoys every minute of his success to reaching this far in life. Gone are the days when he did not speak English, just Spanish, when he arrived in the United States.
