UF student Laura Mutis knows how difficult it is to be an immigrant in the United States.
Seven years later, she still recalls her struggle as a new student when her family moved from Colombia to Florida.
“I remember how difficult it was just to say, ‘I need to go to the bathroom,’” she said.
After that experience, she wanted to make the transition easier for other students.
Mutis came up with We Can Achieve, a program in which UF mentors help kids in and outside of the classroom. Volunteers are paired with high school ESOL, or English for Speakers of Other Languages, students based on similarities and individual goals.
Gainesville High School is the first school to work with the program.
It was selected because of its well-developed ESOL program and because the teachers were willing to work with the volunteers, said Bryant Adibe, executive director of the Young Achievers Foundation.
We Can Achieve hopes to target students who are unable to reach their academic goals due to the language barrier and the lack of resources provided by public education, he said.
“The program is in data-testing mode at the moment,” he said. “This semester we’ll be working out the kinks, but the program should be in full effect in the fall.”
Volunteers must commit at least an hour per week to their mentees and attend training sessions with the executive board.
“We were skeptical when Laura approached us,” said Louise Yariv, ESOL coordinator at Gainesville High School. “I have been teaching for 18 years, and many UF and Santa Fe students come in to volunteer and then stop. But we do understand that they have lives and cannot always commit.”
There are two teachers and an aid for the 60 students, according to Susan Lomonte, ESOL and English teacher, but she doesn’t believe it’s enough help.
“Each student learns differently and has different needs,” Lomonte said. “Most are capable of comprehending but will lack the confidence needed to speak English.”
The program also focuses on college preparation.
The program hopes to expand throughout Gainesville and into elementary and middle schools, Mutis said.
“I want to see the students who have that talent to make it using their full potential by opening their eyes to more than just working after high school in order to help their parents,” Mutis said.
Mutis was in ESOL with 15 other students where only two were accepted to UF. She believes those rejected were just as talented, but the language barrier got the best of them.
The ESOL program needs all the help it can get, said Yariv, who boasted about Ligia Bermudez, a Spanish and bilingual aid.
“I know they need more help, but I refuse cloning,” Bermudez said. “My husband says that one of me is more than enough.”
