OTAN invites nominations of California adult education learners who are successful as a result of the education received at adult education agencies for the California Adult Education Students Succeed program. The program honors outstanding students who are adults with significant life responsibilities, who have made positive contributions to the community, established and met life goals by attending an adult education program, improved the life situations of self and others, and overcome difficult circumstances in order to pursue adult learning experiences. The program recognizes the hard work that outstanding adult education students have completed in the pursuit of their personal, academic, and professional goals and aspirations.
You can read stories and watch videos from previous years by clicking on the Students tab. You can also explore stories from specific adult education agencies and programs by clicking on the Schools and Programs tabs. To learn how to nominate a student for the program and to submit an online nomination form, click on the Nomination tab.
Students Succeed Honoree: Diana Viscarra
Diana Viscarra was born in San Francisco, California. However, when she was only eight 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 eighteen years of age, 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 the United States, she was both excited and scared. She and her brother were alone without any guidance or support from family or friends. In the beginning, it was very difficult for both of them to find a job because they did not speak English and would survive on $5 per day that was divided between the two. However bleak things might have seemed, Diana was determined to go 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 from 11:00pm to 6:00am loading and unloading boxes at factories for a year. She then was able to get a job working at the San Francisco Airport in fast food restaurants where she got lots of experience in customer service but also working in many different places within the airport. She worked at the airport for more than seven years, always knowing she wanted to do more with her life.