Many immigrant parents aspire to have bilingual children. But for Delmy, an Upward Scholars student from El Salvador, that will never be an option. As a toddler, Delmy’s son Adan was diagnosed with a severe language delay. As a result, he has been able to process only one language. The language Adan chose — due to the primary language his brothers already spoke and the language he heard at preschool — was English. 

Delmy’s challenge was that her English was limited, so she couldn’t converse with her son. “I would say something in Spanish, and he'd say, ‘I don’t know what that means’,” Delmy says. “Adan was already frustrated because he has a language delay. It made me so sad that he was even more frustrated talking to me." 

Delmy reads with her son Adan everyday

To improve her English, Delmy enrolled in advanced ESL classes at Cañada College and applied for Upward Scholars support to make college affordable. With far better English now, Delmy communicates with Adan, age seven, almost exclusively in English. A secondary benefit of her improved English is that she can participate in conferences with Adan’s teachers without help from a translator. Delmy has been meeting with Adan’s teachers for the past four years, and this year was the first time she spoke directly to the teacher on her own behalf. “Finally, I can say what I want to say, and I know that the people in the room can understand me,” Delmy says.

Delmy currently works as a part-time caregiver, but as a dean’s list student at Cañada College, Delmy’s goal is to be an X-ray technician. Upward Scholars has supported her by helping to pay for her textbooks, giving her a laptop, and providing her with a math tutor. “I only want to say, ‘thank you’,” Delmy says. “You have helped me make my life better in many ways.”