Narrator: Virginia Poe came to America in 1982 with limited English skills and limited confidence in her ability to find a job or cope with a strange new culture. Thanks to adult education, she now has confidence in her English skills and a successful career as a Supervising Child Support Officer with the County of Los Angeles.

Virginia Poe: I came to this country in March of 1982. I had to go through the customs at airport. And the officer asked me some questions. I looked at him, and then he said buh, buh, buh, buh, buh. So the only word I could understand was food. So I just shook my head. So he let me go.

I went to the supermarket to get something, and then-- but the check was a temporary check. So the clerk just tore it up. And I didn't know how to argue in English, I just left. So I think of that. That's why I want to learn English, so I can at least communicate with people in this country.

Phyllis Butland: Virginia was in a group class with probably about level 4, level 5 intermediate. Because her reading and writing skills were excellent. She had studied a lot in Taiwan. But she was not able to understand what she was listening to.

So we focused a lot on listening and speaking conversation. What makes her stand out is her talents, her discovery of those talents. She's very, very capable.

Virginia Poe: Phyllis is a very creative professional teacher. She cares about her students, and then she builds up her students' self-confidence. Without her encouragement, I won't be able to become an independent person, and I won't be able to find a job. She has taught us a lot to introduce us to the American culture.

Phyllis Butland: By the time Virginia was studying, we had a bank operating in our classroom. And students would take turns being the teller and waiting on customers in English. And they would make a deposit, and then they would cash in their money for field trips.

I prefer being able to find out from students what they need, and troubleshooting, and trying to help them get out there and take on the world. I think the AdultEd class helped her mainly to realize her talents, and it encouraged her to try to keep moving along and keep improving. I know she's a person who's very committed to education. So I think she's probably still studying now, trying to perfect her English.

To see how far Virginia has gone, and she's a young woman still, she's got farther to go. And I trust that she will. And to see that just-- it gives me some fulfillment to see that we can go to the top.

Sharon Brannon: Nothing thrills me more than to see the successes that our ESL students are making. Through the hard work of our teachers and the hard work of their students, we have done some marvelous things.

Virginia Poe: I would like to tell other adults to take advantage of adult education opportunities. Just keep going, keep learning, and think positive, not give up.