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Adult education student will never stop learning
October 31, 2022
Diana Viscarra
School: Sequoia Adult School
Adult Education
Diana Viscarra was born in San Francisco, Calif. However, when she was only 8 months old, her father tragically died during a vacation to Mexico. Left alone with her six children and without a means of providing for them, Diana’s mother decided to stay in Mexico. At age 18, Diana made the very difficult decision to leave her family and everything she had ever known for the small possibility of being able to get an education in the United States. When Diana arrived in California, she and her brother were alone without any guidance or support from family or friends. Neither spoke English and they barely made ends meet. However bleak things might have seemed, Diana was determined to get a job and go to school. Eventually finding a job in a retail store in San Francisco’s Mission District, she worked hard, taking on the night shifts loading and unloading boxes at factories for a year. She then was able to get a job working at the San Francisco Airport, serving in various roles at the airport over seven years, always knowing she wanted to do more with her life.During that time, Diana got married and had two daughters. It wasn't until she had her second daughter that she took advantage of her maternity leave and finally decided to enroll at an adult school. In 2007, Diana moved to San Mateo County, where she enrolled at Sequoia Adult School. Her only goal at that time was to get her GED and learn English, thinking that with those achievements, she could be promoted within the fast food restaurant where she worked. Higher education seemed impossible. She quickly started taking GED classes in Spanish; but childcare and work made attending class difficult. It wasn't until a staff member at Sequoia Adult School noticed her attendance and reached out to check in on her goals that she began to feel motivated to keep trying. After almost a year, she was finally able to get her GED.
After completing her GED, Diana was encouraged by the Transition Advisor at Sequoia Adult School to take an ESL placement test at Cañada College. Sequoia staff helped her throughout the enrollment process and guided her through applying for financial aid. It was the first time that she began to believe that higher education could be possible. In 2019, she graduated from Cañada College with an A.S. in Paralegal Studies, and in Spring 2020 she received an A.A. in Political Science. Having accomplished so much more than she ever thought possible, she knew she could not stop. In Fall 2020, in the midst of the pandemic and facing an uncertain future with her husband now having lost his job, Diana started her journey towards a bachelor's degree at San Francisco State University. Despite challenges and difficulties, she persevered and received a B.A in Political Science in May 2022.
Because of the people who helped and encouraged Diana, she values giving that same type of support to others in her community. Very early on her educational journey, despite her insecurities, Diana began working part-time as an assistant to the teachers who taught the lower ESL levels at Cañada College, eventually recruited by the college’s Learning Center to become an ESL tutor. After working both jobs for a semester, she decided to stay as a tutor for the next two years. Her success in tutoring served as a great motivator for her. She loved helping other students who were once where she was. As a peer mentor, she helped students learn, gain new study skills and manage their time, teaching strategies to reach their goals. She listened to them when they were stressed and helped guide them through their struggles.
Sequoia Adult School provided Diana with a great starting point; in addition to assisting with her college applications, they also helped connect her with a private scholarship foundation, Upward Scholars. Upward Scholars offers students transitioning from adult schools money for books, transportation, laptops and free tutoring services. As a recipient of an Upward Scholar scholarship, Diana also spent many years volunteering for the organization. She helped with private fundraising events, tutoring and ESL conversation clubs. She was constantly asked to deliver speeches about her life experiences to help motivate students. Finally in July 2019, she began working for Upward Scholars as a Student Fellow and was quickly promoted to Program Coordinator and in 2022 to Program Director. She's passionate about her job, as Upward Scholars has helped over 1,000 adult immigrant students in the San Mateo County area afford textbooks and provided them with countless hours of free tutoring.
At the beginning of her journey, Diana only wanted to go to school to learn English so that she could get a higher position within the food industry, but she's now looking pursue master's and doctorate degrees. She hopes to continue helping her community through her work with Upward Scholars and her volunteer work with the Immigration Institute of the Bay Area.
Diana Viscarra