Valentine’s Day reminds us that love can come when you least expect it. That’s what happened to Aderli. She was teaching kindergarten in Brazil and trying to save money to finish her biology degree when a friend convinced her to come to the U.S. She thought she could work for a few years and save enough money to return home and complete her degree.
Within a few weeks in the United States, she fell in love, and her plans changed. Within a year, she was married and expecting her first child. She and her husband have been married for 20 years, and their son is now a student at UMass Boston.
In order to make a life here, she needed to learn English, so Aderli enrolled at The Immigrant Learning Center in 2000. She explains, “It’s really, really hard for us because you are afraid about everything when you don’t speak English. Scared to go somewhere and get lost. How can I get home if I don’t speak English?”
As she learned English, her fears melted away and her confidence grew. Eventually, she felt confident enough to enroll in massage school and take classes like kinesiology, physiology and anatomy. She traded in housekeeping for a fulfilling career as a massage therapist. According to Aderli, “The ILC is amazing. It changed my life.”
Thank you for your continued support that makes stories like Aderli’s possible.
Diane Portnoy
Founder and CEO
The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc.
Thank You!
Countless supporters help The ILC give immigrants a voice. Here is a heartfelt thank you for some recent acts of kindness:
Kevin Duffy with the City of Malden and Priya Lane from Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice for speaking to the Entrepreneurship Class.
Hayley Kahn from Jewish Vocational Service, Jane Co from the Asian American Civic Association, Andrew Deangelo from Building Pathways and David Corbie from Career Collaborative for speaking to the Next Steps class.
About Us
The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc. (ILC) of Malden, MA, is a not-for-profit organization that gives immigrants a voice in three ways. The English Language Program provides free, year-round English classes to immigrant and refugee adults in Greater Boston to help them become successful workers, parents and community members. The Public Education Institute informs Americans about the economic and social contributions of immigrants in our society, and the Institute for Immigration Research, a joint venture with George Mason University, conducts research on the economic contributions of immigrants. For more information, visit the website at www.ilctr.org or Facebook page ImmigrantLearningCenter.