Success Story: America Martinez Gonzalez

America  Gonzalaz and Victoria Washington at
America's Trident Literacy Graduation

Educational Opportunity Center (EOC) participant, America Martinez Gonzalez lives in Goose Creek, SC and is the mother with two wonderful girls. At the age of 18, America moved to the United States to live with her mother. She had graduated from high school in Mexico and was too old to enroll in high school in the United States. So, she learned to speak English by watching her favorite show on television, “Friends”. She was familiar with the show, but with Spanish subtitles. Now she watched with English subtitles.

She decided to earn my GED and enrolled at Trident Literacy to improve her education and to help her daughters with their homework.  Since moving to this country, she had the desire to fit in and did not want to miss out on any opportunities.   As a housewife and a mother with little time and as an immigrant where English is her second language, she encountered different challenges in completing the GED, which she began working in 2016. She stopped two times.  The third time, she started all over and it took four months to complete it, but she did it!

America enrolled in the baking and pastry program at Trident Technical College (TTC). Her Education Specialist, Victoria Washington helped her through the TTC application and the FAFSA application.  America said of her experience at EOC, “Ms. Washington guided me step by step.  The most important thing is that she encouraged me to go further with my education.  Before getting to know her, I thought earning my GED diploma was all I could go for.  Even before I finished my GED, she encouraged me to have all things ready for the applications.  She explained the application process to me, the Accuplacer test, and she guided me as to where to go and who to talk to.  The most important thing I learned from her was that even though I did not belong to this country by birth, I still had opportunities to keep going with my education.”

America was motivated to earn a degree to set an example for her daughters.  “No matter what, education is important, and if I was doing it, they could do it, too!”

She is currently a student at the Culinary Institute of Charleston at TTC, following her dreams and doing what she never could even imagine, earning a degree and continuing her education.  “I have so many goals in life, and thanks to Ms. Washington, I am on my way to my Associates Degree.  Ms.  Washington is a wonderful person who has demonstrated the quality of the person she is, and she has really showed me that helping others is more than a job to her.  Being an immigrant herself, is a great example for me as an immigrant.”

America is grateful to EOC and Ms. Washington for her patience, help, and support.  “I definitely encourage others to get help from Ms. Washington or other Educational Opportunity Center Education Counselors because they do make the process of starting college easier causing less anxiety for everyone!”

America’s story was also featured in Skirt! Magazine in September 2018.