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A logo of a human figure shines.

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ANNOUNCER: OTAN, Outreach and Technical Assistance Network.

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Text, California Adult Education Students Succeed 2023. Maria Cornellier, Castro Valley Adult and Career Education. In a photo, Maria smiles in a blue graduation cap and gown. Maria, using a mobility scooter, holds hands with a woman as they move alone outside. Text, Maria Cornellier, CAESS 2023 Honoree.

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MARIA CORNELLIER: My name is Maria Cornellier. I never knew what life would be like with an education. I had a lot of trauma from childhood that stopped me from going to school and from being able to succeed in life period. There was one lady in particular, Lindsey Malcolm, she's now considered my mom.

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Maria chats with Lindsay outside.

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And she helped me and is still helping me to heal a lot of those wounds.

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Text, Lindsay Malcolm, Psychologist and Mom.

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LINDSAY MALCOLM: When I met her, I realized she needed more than a counselor. She actually did need a mother. I became that for her.

MARIA CORNELLIER: I've been going through healing now for 13 years.

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Maria and Lindsay hold hands as they move past the outside of a building.

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And if I wouldn't have been going through, that I would have never been able to go through school.

LINDSAY MALCOLM: And then I found out over time she just had not been allowed to go to school.

MARIA CORNELLIER: When your kids are little, you normally read to your kids. Well, I couldn't read. So I would get the book and I would look at the pictures and I would make up a story. It was embarrassing.

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In a photo, a young Maria smiles wearing a straw hat.

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But I didn't know how to count out money.

LINDSAY MALCOLM: You've got to start at the beginning, you've got to go back to school.

MARIA CORNELLIER: And I found Castro Valley to be a really nice adult school, and it had a lot to offer.

LINDSAY MALCOLM: Careese Nguyen was her first teacher.

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Careese, Maria, and two other women post in an outdoor photo.

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And it was a match made in heaven as far as I was concerned, because she was so kind and so loving towards Maria.

MARIA CORNELLIER: She helped me to learn to read and to do math and all the basics.

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Text, Careese Nguyen, A B E Instructor, Castro Valley Adult and Career Education.

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CAREESE NGUYEN: The first time that she came into the classroom, she was in a scooter and scooted very timidly into the classroom and sat at the back table.

MARIA CORNELLIER: Because I was ashamed of who I was.

CAREESE NGUYEN: She wouldn't partner with anyone and I said, I'll be your partner. So we really practiced decoding and fluency, and slowly because of that confidence in her ability to read, the hood came off.

MARIA CORNELLIER: She took extra time with me and just taught me.

CAREESE NGUYEN: When you're able to read, write, and become a mathematician and do all those things, you need those basic skills, you become a confident person. And Maria had really blossomed.

MARIA CORNELLIER: When I came home, I called my mom and I said, listen to this.

LINDSAY MALCOLM: She's got an email and she'd want to read the email to me.

MARIA CORNELLIER: It's like a kid that comes home when they first was learning to read and they want to share it.

CAREESE NGUYEN: It was really exciting to see her journey to literacy.

CRYSTAL KORBAS: She came to us needing all of the credits.

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Crystal Korbas, High School Diploma Teacher, Castro Valley Adult and Career Education. Stacie Annear, High School Diploma Instructor, Castro Valley Adult and Career Education.

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STACIE ANNEAR: A lot of people would have given up at that time and just said it's too big of a hurdle. And I can't do it. But she kept showing up.

CRYSTAL KORBAS: And it took a lot of persistence to keep coming, to keep working. And a lot of outside connection too.

MARIA CORNELLIER: And they were a big support for me. If I had any questions, if I needed any help, they were right there.

LINDSAY MALCOLM: In no time at all, she was just loved by everybody because she's a very lovable person, frankly.

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Linette Escobar, Transition Specialist, Castro Valley Adult and Career Education.

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LINETTE ESCOBAR: One thing we do for our high school diploma students is walk them through a career exploration process. Got more confidence and more clarity. She decided to become a counselor.

MARIA CORNELLIER: My heart's desire is to help people. Stacie called me and she said, congratulations. You're a graduate.

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Maria poses with an older woman, holding her diploma.

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That was just the most a wonderful feeling I had ever felt in my life.

LINETTE ESCOBAR: I helped her in looking for scholarships and applying for colleges, helping her write her graduation speech.

MARIA CORNELLIER: And if I hadn't been at Castro Valley Adult School, I wouldn't be going to college.

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Beth Cutter, Director, Castro Valley Adult and Career Education.

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BETH CUTTER: One of the things that makes adult education so special is that we're able to meet students where they are, even if that is at the very beginning.

CAREESE NGUYEN: She's bringing so much to the world, not just through inspiration, but her skills and talents.

MARIA CORNELLIER: My life has changed in another whole direction. I've started college and I'm going to be going into addiction and substance abuse counseling. But it's never too late. I had all of the credits I had to get. And I did it. And if I can do it, you can do it.

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Maria smiles at a table outdoors. Text, Special Thanks to: Castro Valley Adult and Career Education. Producer: Karin deVarennes. Director: Douglas Rennie. Produced by OTAN, Outreach and Technical Assistance Network. Www dot OTAN dot US. 2023.