Student shines with help from adult school

Colusa County Adult School is typically attended by locals of Colusa County who have decided to return to school, upskill for a career, or learn English, according to instructor Alena Anberg.

Anberg said that Susana Barba Hernandez, whom she taught English as a Second Language (ESL) to, is an amazing student that deserves some recognition.

“What stands out to me for (Hernandez) is true for so many of our students, which is that they’re working or that they have families. Being an adult ed student is not easy; there are many challenges, and they’re persevering,” Anberg said. “(With Hernandez,) she’s incredibly curious, and it’s a real strength of hers, and she’s incredibly driven.”

Hernandez shows leadership and always helps other students, Anberg said. In addition to her helping nature, Hernandez has a deep interest in agriculture.

Hernandez showed an interest in agriculture while working in the fields as a harvester in Woodland with Syngenta Seeds. She became curious about the reasons behind their processes and the associated data.

“So I started making questions. Like why do they do this? Why?” Hernandez said.

Now, Hernandez is a plant science major at Woodland Community College in Woodland, where she was also hired at their greenhouse. Additionally, she has an internship lined up with the United States Department of Agriculture this summer.

This occurred after Hernandez moved from Mexico and became a United States resident in 2015 because of her husband.

“So I started living here, and always thinking about the possibility of going to school, but (I) always think in my mind: I can’t do it because I don’t have the English,” Hernandez said.

Anberg explained that Hernandez came to them before earning her high school diploma.

“And first engaged with our classes to earn her high school diploma with Mr. Nic Monroe, and then enrolled in our class, my ESL class, to learn English to continue growing. And then I was able to give her a tour at the college,” Anberg said.

Hernandez said that her English has improved and that Anberg’s encouragement has been meaningful.

“(Anberg) told me, ‘You can do it.’ I feel very powerful when I talk with (her),” Hernandez said. “(She became) my mentor, my inspiration. She always forced me to make me feel like I really can do it. So then I started college, and I always (am) involved in what I really like to do. Because even if I don’t get the English as well – I need to be involved in agriculture.”

Hernandez spoke at a recent annual award event with the Colusa County Adult School and received a plaque and certificate as a result of being an outstanding adult education program student.

“My message to the students was, we always meet a person who changed the way of your life. For me that was (Anberg), because she showed me (that) I could do it,” Hernandez said. “Sometimes, the word means very much. So for me, the words that she told me were very important.”

Hernandez said that she saw something in her.

“(Hernandez is) incredibly inspiring to be a mother going back to school in a new language,” Anberg said. “I think sometimes we just say, ‘Oh, they graduated. Oh, they went to college. They registered for college.’ That in itself is huge, huge news. I wish more people had awareness of what that really entails for folks and how perseverant all of our adult education students are.”