Moving to a country where you don’t know the culture or language can be an incredibly frightening experience. But sometimes staying in your home country is just too difficult to do.
Sabah Ebadi Rad and her family moved to the United States from Iran six years ago. They were fleeing the Revolution and after surviving food, fuel and medicine shortages, they knew they needed to seek a better life.
After settling in San Antonio, Sabah also knew she had to learn English.
“It was very important because if I want to go to work, if I want to go shopping or to the doctor…I need to learn to communicate,” said Sabah.
That is where the North East ISD Adult Education program came into her life. She began attending the District’s Adult English as a Second Language (ESL) classes after learning about it from a neighbor.
Not only did she complete the classes, she was among 25 honorees at the National Adult Education Honor Society (NAEHS) ceremony hosted by the District on May 3.
According to her teacher Mariano Trujillo, she was an incredibly disciplined student. Sabah progressed from ESL 2 to ESL 3 in just one year, and was often ahead of her classmates in doing homework. She is eager to one day become an American citizen.
NEISD Adult Education instructors observe their students throughout the year to nominate a top student. Most relate the Honor Society to high grades and test scores, but NAEHS also looks at a student’s willingness to cooperate in class, participation, attendance, work ethic and self-reliance.
Stories like Sabah’s were shared at the ceremony that included ESL students from 11 different countries and several high school equivalency (HSE) graduates as well. They all overcame obstacles to work on their education and language mastery.
NEISD is proud to provide this service to the community and demonstrate that learning never stops. The ceremony honored top achieving adult education students in front of an audience of teachers, family members and friends.
Adult education students being honored included:
Patricia Abbot (Columbia)
Mahgul Alecozay (Afghanistan)
Zeinab Ali (Lebanon)
Margarita Alicea (Mexico)
Marina Berger (Russia)
Aida Cardona (Columbia)
Daniela Chacon (Mexico)
Daniel Christensen
Mehtap Cisneros (Turkey)
Phanuwat Hentong
Juan Sierra Hernandez (Mexico)
Maria Hernandez (Mexico)
Ali Jali Kamila (Afghanistan)
Kwanjit Khanta
Hojeong Kim (Korea)
Michael Messina
Fernando Morales (Mexico)
Aracely Padron (Mexico)
Heriberto Parra (Mexico)
Sabah Ebadi Rad (Iran)
Maria Guadalupe Rodriguez (Mexico)
Zandra Trejo-Sanchez
Armando Ubeda (Cuba)
Nora Vasques (Mexico)
Brillith Vega (Mexico)
