The PACE (Proficiency in American Culture and English) Learning Community held its first year-end celebratory event on Thursday, May 11th, 2017 in the Multicultural Center. Three cohorts of PACE students and faculty as well as their families gathered to celebrate their accomplishments and 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 Uyghur lamb pilaf, Iraqi kibbeh, Burmese tea leaf salad, and Chinese dumplings. The MC for the evening, PACE student Sofia Acuña, began the evening with a warm welcome. Faculty and students then gave speeches about their experiences learning and being part of the PACE Community. Khaoula Aissaoui, from Algeria, spoke about joining her father in America and her gratitude to her classmates. Frank Yao, an international student from the Ivory Coast, shared a deeply personal and inspiring story about his educational obstacles and how he has worked to overcome them. PACE alumni Seng Aung Bu, from Myanmar, and Roxana Canjura, from El Salvador, gave words of advice to the current PACE students. The evening concluded with an impressive slideshow to music curated by PACE student Jaz Naomi Lucas.
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 have made this event possible.
The PACE 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 Ben Hsieh
