The PACE Learning Community* held its annual End-of-the-Year Celebration on Thursday, May 2, 2019 in the Multicultural Center. Two cohorts of PACE students and faculty as well as their families gathered to celebrate their accomplishments and to commemorate the people who have supported them in their educational journeys.
The hit of the evening was the potluck of foods from around the world, featuring dishes such as Burmese coconut noodles, Peruvian lomo saltado, and konafa, a dessert from Yemen. The MCs for the evening, PACE students Aaron Peng and Carolina Fernandez, began the evening with a warm welcome. Faculty and students then gave speeches about their experiences learning and being part of the PACE Community. Marcela Rivera, from El Salvador, spoke about her journey of becoming educated, her mother’s support and the difficulties of balancing school, work and home life. Wanchai Chuangsamrong, from Thailand, shared how education empowered him and the tremendous work he went through to get to where he is today. PACE graduates and transfer students were also honored at this event and given the red, gold and white PACE graduation cord as a token of their participation in the learning community. The evening concluded with a slideshow to music curated by PACE student Adrian Kubitzki.
This event was a celebration of the diversity that makes our learning community and campus special. The co-coordinators of PACE, Erinn Struss and Serena Chu-Mraz, would like to thank all those who have supported PACE and made this event possible.
*The PACE (Proficiency in American Culture and English) Learning Community brings together English language learners and dedicated faculty and staff in a four-semester series of linked classes starting with ESOL 840 and culminating in ENGL 110.
Article by Serena Chu-Mraz and Erinn Struss | Photo by Christopher Mraz
