The English as a Second Language Department at City College will hold a graduation ceremony to honor students for their completion of the fifth and highest level of ESL at 1 p.m., May 18 on the Memorial Plaza, East Campus.

Students who finished a vital chapter in mastering basic communication skills necessary to progress in an American community college environment will be one step closer to their individual goals.

The series of courses in the ESL Department are designed to aid the resident and international student for whom English is a second or foreign language.

For students like Sugey Salcedo, an upcoming ESL graduate, balancing a job, caring for four children as a single mother, and pursuing her goals at City College full-time, have been a struggle but she continues to strive forward.

“My goal is to become an accountant. It has been hard with four children and work but I am not giving up,” Salcedo said. “I tell my kids, if I can get good grades, so can you.”

The ESL program is a full commitment that has taken some students extra time to achieve. Many students have found that balancing work while supporting their families has been a struggle and that the graduation ceremony is a long-awaited event.

Completion of the program has been a slow process for student Hector Herrera, who has had to work full-time in order to support his family. Herrera started at City College in fall 2003 and has only been able to take one or two classes per semester to gradually work his way through the ESL program.

“I have to work to support my family and the homework is a lot so I couldn’t take more than a few courses a semester,” Herrera said.

Herrera has stayed determined even when significant changes in his work schedule as well as family and medical issues have become impediments.

“Sometimes people ask why it takes students so long to get through ESL. The reason is that they also have to get through life at the same time,” said Priscilla Butler, chair of the ESL Department. “Some work two or even three jobs to make ends meet but still keep coming back for classes.”

Outstanding ESL Student of the Year, Maria Castro Gonzalez started in the ESL program at level two and has taken great strides to improve her English skills and further her education.

“Maria has been incredibly consistent in her class work, dedication to learning, and her approach to the classroom. She is a strong role model for other students as she has progressed through our program,” Butler said.

According to vistawide.com, English is not only the language spoken by the largest number of non-native speakers, but is the most widely published language of the roughly 6,800 languages spoken today.

“For some of our students, a college education would not have been a possibility in their home countries,” Butler said. “That our students can begin to see themselves as college students and start to envision a broader future is one of the most satisfying elements that our ceremony embodies.”