Israel Gonzalez

This quarter, in my opinion, was the best one yet. I was able to work with three students from the bridge class at Desert Vista and it went really well. In the third quarter of this long and bumpy journey, I felt like I was able to redeemmyself for all of the mistakes and mishaps from before. I was also very fortunate to work with Ms. Linda, a teacher that I have always wanted to work with.

For the last two sessions I was working with Elizabeth Felix at El Pueblo Learning Center. This session, however, shewanted to take the Bridge Class at the Desert Vista. I helped her fill out the application and the rest was history. Whenclasses started, Elizabeth and I would stay anywhere from an hour to sometimes three hours after class studying. Elizabeth was very dedicated. Shewould copy every single thing Ms. Linda wrote on the board. She was also very organized; making my job very easy.

Soon, thanks to Liz, I had two other students asking me to tutor them. Elizabeth was so kind to me. Looking passed all of my flaws, she alwayshad something nice to say. She recommended my tutoring to other students. Elizabeth always sat next to a student named Rene Topete. One day, Liz asked me if he could study with us during our session. I agreed that it would be a good idea. Rene never left and became the second student towork with me from the Bridge class.

Ricardo Miranda also joined our group. He was the one that needed the most help. Rene and Elizabeth were a little more advanced than he was. I would more often than not put Ricardo on the spot and test him. He didn’t like it at all, but I didn't want him to feel like he wasn't smart enough forthe group. He quickly transitioned. Everyone got along well. They were always helping each other and they moved quickly.

Elizabeth was the first to accomplish the mission of passing the GED with a math score of 153. Once Liz passed, the guys got very motivated.Shortly after, Rene followed with a bone crushing 161 on his Math GED making me the proudest tutor in all the land. Though I felt bad for Ricardo, Iknew it would only be a matter of time before he passed. And he did. Belly sliding right through it, he got a 150 for the win. I couldn't have been any prouder of my students. They went the extra mile.

On May 12, 2016 Ricardo and I were very fortunate to see Rene and Elizabeth walk on that stage and reflect on their accomplishments. It was amazing to see that just a year ago, I was in their shoes. It got me thinking about the ripple effect that we always talk about. Thanks to people whohelped me like Mr. Phil, Ms.Linda, and Mr.Chris P, I now have the capacity and knowledge to help others. I also thought of the great things thatRene and Elizabeth will do after this. Who will they help and what will become of them?

Once again, I felt sympathetic for Ricardo, but in a way, I think that it was a really good experience for him to see. Every student has their own pace of learning and he, too, will get his GED and a ripple effect will touch those around him. We are all fortunate to have the support of great teachers at Pima Adult Ed. Without them, our goals would be that much harder to achieve.