Graduation By Brian Cunningham, project
coordinator
Adult Literacy Services | Changing lives one chapter at a
time.
A newsletter written by students and tutors
In January the library held the inaugural ceremony in
honor of our first graduates from Career Online
High School. I had never met most of these students in person,
so it was a treat to finally come face to face with them.
Graduate Angie Velasquez gave a beautiful
speech, recounting the personal and professional growth she attributes to COHS.
The career certificate she received in Office Management, in addition to her
diploma, inspired her to pursue a career in Human Resources. She is currently
attending Harbor College and applying what she learned in her courses to make
improvements at her current place of work.
In addition to our own John Szabo, we also had a few
guest speakers, including Mayor Eric Garcetti, State Librarian Greg Lucas, and
Board of Library Commissioner President Bich Ngoc Cao. Each of them shared
powerful and inspiring speeches; we learned that the Mayor’s grandfather had
been a barber, as he referenced one of our graduates currently enrolled in
barber college.
We are grateful for the generous support of the Library
Foundation and the California State
Library. There are currently 34 graduates and many more
students are approaching the finish line. Between the press we received and the
family members who were inspired to apply for the program as a result of the
ceremony, I am proud to say there seems to be more interest in Career
Online High School than ever before.
A New High School Graduate By literacy coordinator
Janis Risch
Holly Maidens knew that she wanted to complete her GED
and she found out about the LA Public
Library’s Adult Literacy Program in late 2013. She hoped
working with a tutor would help her to achieve that goal. She was matched with
a tutor in early 2014. Her tutor helped Holly to improve her reading skills and
also built up her confidence by offering ongoing encouragement. Soon after
Holly started in the library’s program, the library introduced the Career
Online High School (COHS) and Janis Risch, the Literacy Coordinator for the
West Valley, told Holly about it. She began the COHS program in the spring of
2014 and, with her hard work and the encouragement of others, she completed her
coursework and earned her high school diploma and career certificate on June
25, 2015. Holly liked the online learning environment because it allowed her to
work at her own pace as her busy schedule permitted. She really liked the
visible cues given by the program (checkmarks) as she progressed through the
coursework. Her academic coach was ready to help her with any computer issues
or questions about the lessons.
Holly is now in her third semester at Pierce College.
She is taking General Education classes in preparation for transferring to
California State University-Northridge where she will major in Psychology. Her
long term goal is to become a social worker who works with special needs
families and links them with resources. READ MORE @
