When Isela came to the U.S. from Mexico seven years ago, she had no intention of continuing to study accounting, the career she’d chosen in her home country. “It seemed impossible,” Isela recalls. “I didn’t know English, so how could I be an accountant?”

But that all changed when Isela completed Cañada College’s rigorous ESL sequence and enrolled in a career development class that included a career assessment. Results of the assessment indicated that accounting was, indeed, the best career for her.

Today, Isela has a 3.9 grade point average and is scheduled to receive certificates in accounting and bookkeeping in May. After that, she plans to complete her general education requirements, get her Associate's degree, and transfer to a university.

“Upward Scholars pays for my accounting textbooks, which are very expensive. They gave me a computer. And I had an amazing tutor,” Isela says. “They make my accounting career possible.”