[AUDIO LOGO] SPEAKER 1: OTAN, Outreach and Technical Assistance Network. 

[MUSIC PLAYING] 

ANA LAURA ROMO: My name is Ana Romo. Yeah, I was born and raised in Jalisco, Mexico. It was a small town in Jalisco, Belén del Refugio. My life there was like happy, like nah, like growing up with my siblings. I have so many. I have 11 siblings. My parents, my grandparents-- 

VICTOR ROMO: Her and her mom used to own a store. So every time I would just go like every-- I don't, every 15 minutes just to bug her. 

ANA LAURA ROMO: My mom had a store selling any kind of stuff, fruit, vegetable. Working at the store also helped me on my job, my actual job now, like helping people, like working around people. I graduated high school from there. Then I came here to the United States when I was 19. It was so hard when I came here because since I was so young, everybody thought I know English. And everybody was talking to me in English, and I was all confused. I don't even know what is your name. When I came here, I was working at a warehouse at the beginning. And at nine I was going to school to ESL classes. 

VICTOR ROMO: I found out she was here on Myspace. So I just hit her up and just bugging her again to get a date with her. 

ANA LAURA ROMO: I actually met my husband at my town because the parents are from the same town I am. So I know him since I was 15. During my time here in the United States, I attended like four ESL classes adult school. This is the school that had the most-- the perfect school for me. This school actually helped me a lot because they have the ESL classes, but they have every teacher for every level. 

DEANNA GROSS: She went through all five levels of our program, and she just didn't give up. 

ANA LAURA ROMO: I improved my English. I thought I would never speak English. It was so hard at the beginning. 

DEANNA GROSS: She was able to come to classes while she took her child to our on-site preschool. 

ANA LAURA ROMO: This school it has teachers like great teachers. They motivate me. 

DEANNA GROSS: She would go to a math class a couple of days a week. And on the days when she didn't have math, she would come back to me in English as a second language. 

ANA LAURA ROMO: Like they tell stories to students like, yeah, nothing is impossible. Everybody can do it. 

DEANNA GROSS: She was continually motivated to do better for herself, for her child, for her husband, for her family. 

ANA LAURA ROMO: Something came to my mind, like, that's true. It's like I can do it. I can do it. After completing my ESL classes, I jumped to the high school classes. 

JOYCE JANG: Ana Romo is a shy person. But that doesn't get in the way of her studies or her completing her goals. 

ANA LAURA ROMO: Adult education helped me to learn English and get my US citizen and my high school diploma. 

VICTOR ROMO: It helped us as a family when she was going to school because now she was able to find a job. 

ANA LAURA ROMO: When I used to ride the buses when I was working with the kids, so that's when I decided I wanted to be a bus driver. 

VICTOR ROMO: How in the world is she's going to drive that big bus, I just still can't believe it. Even I couldn't do it. 

ANA LAURA ROMO: It took a lot of time and effort to be a bus driver, to learn all the regulations. 

VICTOR ROMO: She'll be practicing with the big bus, just going back, doing maneuvers, trying to park within two cones. 

DEANNA GROSS: It's just so exciting to hear after she graduated that she came back and got a job within our district. 

ANA LAURA ROMO: The best part of being on my job is maybe because I'm around kids. I love working with them, their smiles. 

DEANNA GROSS: She's just a part of the family now, and we couldn't be prouder of her. I couldn't be prouder of her as a teacher. 

[MUSIC PLAYING]