Our Inspiration
Nasrin and Mohamed were two of Lauren’s Pre-Calculus students when she was a classroom teacher. They showed immense grit, perseverance, and academic dedication. Their ambition and resilience inspire Lauren to continue her work with English Language Learners. Nasrin and Mohamed came to America as English Language Learners, ready to take on challenges. Lauren wants future students to hear their stories and see that advocacy makes your dreams and goals possible.
Lauren’s teaching style was helpful for me in high school because it was easier to follow. She also had a lot of examples and was there to help when needed. Overall, I liked how structured her class was.
ELL students need advocates that ensure they have everything they need to succeed, from study materials, appropriate classroom settings, and dedicated teachers willing to give full attention to their success. They also need mentors that they can look up to and confide in about the needs that they want to be addressed, such as classroom work or extracurricular activities. They need mentors capable of developing successful study strategies and paving the way for them to be successful future mentors.
I am a Junior at University pursuing a BSN degree, and my goals for ELL students are to improve and be successful. I want ELL students to be able to join other students and not have language as an obstacle to their goals. I want ELL students to progress toward their dreams while they have the opportunity and the options of pursuing higher education.
Lauren had a unique teaching style that was engaging and easy to follow. Almost all of the teachers I had focused on checking off the curriculum requirements, but Lauren focused on understanding necessary concepts in the easiest ways.
I started as an ELL student, and my experience would have been more challenging if it weren’t for the teachers that I had. Mentoring plays a huge role in the journey of an ELL student; I can go as far as saying that it is the difference between the success and failure of ELL students because there is a lot of undermining and bullying from other classmates that discourage you from giving up and not try at all.
I am a senior at Winona State University and work as an Education Technology intern. I aim to use my computer science degree as a data analyst to break into the tech field. I have yet to set a goal for ELL students. I am actively connected to my former high school and work on projects for ELL students. I also plan to visit regularly to share my college experiences.