Who's Who of the Project
 
The success of the project has been completely dependent on those who have given their time and support throughout the duration of the semester. This page is dedicated to acknowledging their contributions and the unique diversity they brought to the table.

First, a little about the researchers...

My name is Lerone Lessner and I am currently a senior at Tufts University in Medford, MA, studying International Relations with a concentration in cultural anthropology. I was born and grew up in Connecticut, however both of my parents are Israeli and the majority of my family resides in Israel. I was raised speaking Hebrew until I reached kindergarten, at which point I began speaking both Hebrew and English in my home environment. My initial interest in bilingualism and culture was set into motion by my childhood experiences and my interest in English acquistion within Latino communities flourished during my senior year in high school. I was given the opportunity to help in tutoring native Spanish-speaking high school freshman in English and general science. Working with these students sparked my desire to find out more about their experiences with bilingualism, how their family members, particularly the parents of these students, were affected by learning English and becoming bilingual.
Yesenia Portillo is a 15-year-old 9th grade student at the Somerville High School. While her parents were both born in El Salvador, she was born and raised in Somerville, MA. Yesenia has five siblings; two of her sisters, Wendy and Nancy, are older and currently live on their own, while her sister Stephanie and her brother Frankie are younger and live in East Boston. Yesenia lives with her youngest sister, Katie, in Somerville. Yesenia's favorite subject is Math and she hopes to be eventually apply these skills to her future career. Her current goals are to improve her grades and effort in school and successfully graduate from high school. She is fascinated by Law and the way laws influence society, and is therefore interested in becoming a lawyer. She hopes to enjoy studying law while providing justice for those who deserve it.
Sidia Escobar was born in April 3, 1988 in El Salvador. Sidia was raised by her grandmother since she was a baby and at the age of nine, arrived in the United States in hopes of being reunited with her beloved mother. Today, at age 15, Sidia attends Somerville High School. She resides in the Mystic View community of Somerville with her mother and three siblings, Estid, Jennifer and Marvin. She enjoys photography and in the future she hopes to travel around the world photographing beautiful scenary of people from different cultures as well as interesting animals. However, for the time being, Sidia is focusing on succeeding in her classes with receiving good grades.
The narrators....
Maria D. Escobar emigrated from El Salvador to central Florida and later to Somerville, Massachusetts where she now resides with her four children. She attends classes ESOL classes through the SCALE program four days a week for two hours a day in the mornings and then works every afternoon. All four of her children attend public school and are fluent in both English and Spanish, and the preservation of both languages are very important to Maria

Maria with her children & a friend of young Marvin
Edith Sanchez is from Costa Rica and arrived in the United States (in Somerville) approximately 11 years prior to the interview. She arrived with her four children as a resident, reuniting with her husband who had arrived before her. Edith had limited experience with ESOL classes at the time of the interview, and had only had the opportunity to attend a month of ESL classes at the Welcome Project before leaving the class for personal economic reasons. Edith expressed the need to use English to improve not only herself but her community through the transcendence of knowledge and empowerment that results from English acquisition.
Faustino Delacruz immigrated to Somerville, MA from Peru in 2002. Faustino’s wife and children remain in Peru, and he has been working to provide his son with the financial means to attend the university. After arriving, Faustino signed onto the waiting list at Concilio Hispano, and had been taking classes with Concilio Hispano for three months at the time of the interview. Faustino currently has no other family in the U.S.; however he wishes to stay here and work and educate himself. He has a great appreciation for the Concilio Hispano for providing him with the opportunity to learn English and is very dedicated to his studies.
Jaime Vargas is from El Salvador and has resides in Somerville with his wife and two daughters. He arrived in the United States without his family approximately six years ago, and since been reunited with his family and begun taking ESOL classes. He had been enrolled in one of Concilio Hispano’s Somerville branch classes for two months at the time of the interview. Jaime would like to remain in the United States and enjoys and appreciates the opportunity offered to him by Concilio Hispano to learn English and improve himself.

Diego Lopez (center right) and Jaime Vargas (center left) among fellow students in a Tuesday morning Concilio Hispano ESOL class, Somerville Branch
Diego Fernando Lopez is a nineteen year-old young man from Colombia, and had resided in the United States for a year and five months at the time of the interview. He lives in Somerville with members of his family, all of whom have moved to the United States. He works at Northeastern University in the evenings and studies as an ESOL student in one of Concilio Hispano’s classes held in their Somerville branch office. He has been a student of these classes for approximately six months; however he has previously attended classes at SCALE as well. Diego hopes to improve himself and gain a higher level of education through his acquisition of the English language.
Betty Stone is the coordinator for the ESOL program at Somerville Center for Adult Learning & Education (SCALE), and has been part of the program since 1978. Betty Stone has had a great deal of experience working with the Latino community of Somerville through SCALE and plans to continue working alongside other organizations such as Concilio Hispano, the Welcome Project, and Centro Presente to educate the adult community and provide learning opportunities for as many students as possible.
Antoinette Basualdo Delmonico is the coordinator for the ESOL program at Concilio Hispano, as well as the supervisor for the AHORA program for high school students (like my research partners Sidia Escobar and Yesenia Portillo). Antoinette has been involved in the Latino community through Concilio Hispano for many years, and throughout that time has gained a great deal of insight as to what motivates members of the community to seek out English acquisition opportunities such as the classes offered by Concilio Hispano.

Rosa with her daughters Yesenia and Katie

 Rosa G. Medrano E. is from El Salvador, and has been living in Somerville ever since she arrived in the U.S. approximately 18 years ago. She currently works for Harvard University’s janitorial system and takes ESOL classes twice a week for two hours as a student of the Harvard Bridge Program, an opportunity open to any employee at Harvard University. Her children attend public school in Somerville and are all bilingual which serves as a great source of pride for Rosa. Previously, she had also taken a citizenship-oriented history class at Centro Presente, which contributed to her ability to successfully achieve U.S. citizenship.
Ralph Hergert, age 56 at the time of the interview, grew up in many different locations in the United States but has been residing in Somerville for approximately the last 25 years. He has been an instructor at the Welcome Project for about ten months, but has known about and been involved in the Welcome Project for a long time. He thoroughly enjoys teaching these classes and is interested in pursuing a certificate in this field to improve his ability to instruct these ESOL classes. Over the years, Ralph has had extensive interaction with the Latino community of Somerville and also works as the minister of a small Baptist Church on Cross St. in Somerville.

Nelson Salazar arrived from Sonsonate, El Salvador in 1980. He lived in Cambridge and worked for Concilio Hispano for some time, and is currently the coordinator of the Welcome Project at the Mystic Ave housing developments. He lives with his wife and children in Somerville. Nelson has been instrumental in this project in both connecting me and my partners to people of the community, as well as providing a space for us to meet and discuss the topic of English acquisition and ESOL programs.

 

Margarita Escobar is a 39-year-old Salvadoran, mother of three. She first arrived in Somerville on October 13, 1989, with only one sister to turn to. As time progressed, she informally learned English while practicing with her coworkers. She is currently a resident of the United States and is attends free English classes provided by her employer at the Winchester Nursing Home. She began these classes the year 2002 and plans to continue along the path towards English acquisition.