(DESCRIPTION)
Logo of a white figure inside a blue circle, OTAN. -- Outreach and Technical Assistance Network. Light brightens from the outstretched arm

Adult Education Students. California Adult Education Students Succeed 2014.

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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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A smiling woman holds up a certificate. Grely Mazariegos, Tamalpais Adult School, CAESS 2014 Honoree.

The woman now wears scrubs as she walks out of a building.

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GRELY MAZARIEGOS: I am from Guatemala. Since I came here I apply for Macy's, so I started working as a recovery person because I didn't speak any English. So I couldn't communicate. And then I started taking classes. I started going to school taking English classes.

JAEMI NAISH:

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Jaemi Nash, GED Program Coordinator, Tamalpais Adult School.

(SPEECH)
Prior to her starting school at Tamalpais Adult School, she was at the college learning English. So she was at College of Marin probably with a newborn to a one-year-old. She spoke no English. And so she was there for about two years.

LUZ O. MORENO:

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Luz O. Moreno, General Puente Counselor, College of Marin.

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She is overcoming a variety of obstacles, financially, economically, emotionally. Being a single mother is not easy, especially in a land that is not your native land with language that's not your native language.

GRELY MAZARIEGOS: I enrolled at Tam Adult School five or six years ago. On the morning I used to go to work. And then after work some days I used to come here to school. And then some other days I used to spend time with my son. Sometimes he said, mom, you are doing just too much homework. Let's have some time together. And that makes me feel bad. But at the same time makes me think that on the future both, we will have a good life.

ISABEL FARGA:

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Isabel Farga, Paraeducator, Tamalpais Adult School

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She put a lot of effort. I will say she will be the first one to arrive and the last one to leave. That's what I remember about her. And very focused on this is my first step. It's not the end. It's just the beginning.

GRELY MAZARIEGOS: I really have a great experience with a teacher, with all the staff here. And Jaemi, oh, my gosh. At this time, we still have this strong relationship. It was really, really nice.

JAEMI NAISH: When Grely talked about what her interests were in terms of what her long term goals, it always involved her cousin. And so her cousin she was very close to growing up in Guatemala. And she helped care for her cousin as they got older.

GRELY MAZARIEGOS: So when he was 15 years old he had a car accident. And he was in coma for like a month. Since he didn't have anybody to take care of him, I did. I was in charge.

JAEMI NAISH: It's almost as if the purpose of her of learning English, working on her GED, going to college, was of course to better herself, but also to make sure she was going to be able to better support her cousin.

GRELY MAZARIEGOS: Since I was a little girl I really wanted to work in the medical field. I want to be a doctor. So that's why I decided to enroll in Tam Adult School. And then next go to college. And then next year to a university.

KAREN MCCREDIE:

(DESCRIPTION)
Karen McCredie, Teacher, GED, Tamalpais Adult School

(SPEECH)
She kind of had "the sky's the limit" attitude always. And so she often would talk about what her career was, ambitions were, that when she finished the GED, she did. She wanted to be a doctor, ultimately. She wanted to help people, and she thought that would be the way to do it.

GRELY MAZARIEGOS: I really want to help my community. The place that I grew up it's difficult to see a doctor. So really what I want is just someone to help people.

JAEMI NAISH: It's great to see that she's almost completed her college program and that she'll be transferring to a university soon and also have her vocational degree. So it's a very exciting time for her, and it's exciting for me as an administrator and counselor to just to watch this unfold.

GRELY MAZARIEGOS: I really want to break the background for my family. I want my son to be proud of me because no one in my family ever gone to college. So I want to be the first one. I want to say part.

LUZ O. MORENO: Looking back at the first time I met her, she's exactly that same vibrant person that had great goals and great aspirations and wasn't going to let anything get in her way.

GRELY MAZARIEGOS: Don't stop. Don't give up. It will take time. But you got to keep going and going and going and don't quit. You'll achieve what you want. Why not?

(DESCRIPTION)
She smiles broadly as she holds up her diploma.

Special thanks to Tamalpais Adult School. Producer, Blair Roy. Director, Douglas Rennie.

Produced by OTAN. www dot OTAN dot US. 2014.