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: Stephanie Gomez
Stephanie started her drug addiction at the age of fourteen. She became a prostitute at the age of twenty-seven. She has been a victim of childhood sexual abuse, domestic abuse, a child victim of a broken home, and a victim of adult homelessness. She is no longer a victim of her past. She has learned that the past doesn't define who you are or your future. She has grown from battered and abused, strung out and ashamed, to a woman who values her worth and believes in a God who loves and redeems. She has been sober and free of prostitution for eight years; she broke the cycle. She is a SURVIVOR!