July immigrated to the United States from Colombia with her family at just sixteen years old. Starting at a new school is challenging enough without the added layers of culture shock and language barriers! But at Esperanza Academy Charter School, July was provided with the opportunity to learn in a safe place with the language services supports she needed to succeed.
With a 98% Hispanic student population, our school’s vibrant atmosphere reflects a variety of countries, cultures, and heritages. Many of our staff and students are bilingual, and we are passionate about meeting students where they are on their language journey. July remembers the Esperanza Academy staff as supportive during her own English language learning journey.
July reflects, “Learning English while in high school was challenging. There were moments when I felt I didn’t belong to certain classes because I didn’t understand…..but I must say that Esperanza staff was always supportive. The counselors and teachers were always making sure that we were doing good and that we were getting the support we needed to complete each class successfully.”
After graduating high school, July attended Esperanza College of Eastern University. Since then, she has also finished a Post Baccalaureate Accounting Certificate from the Community College of Philadelphia. July now works as a Financial Reporting Analyst at AmeriHealth Caritas.
July says, “Do not give up, it can be really hard and frustrating, but it will be worth it…There are many people out there that want you to succeed.”