Lee — The Literacy Network (LitNet) held an all-day workshop at Lee High School on Saturday, November 18, to help immigrant members of the community get into college.
According to its website, the nonprofit organization provides programs to help speakers of other languages improve their English skills, along with providing programs that help with basic education, high school equivalency test preparation, and U.S. citizenship test preparation.
The workshop on November 18 included college preparatory programs that were aimed at first-generation Berkshire County college hopefuls. The programs included assistance in filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which is a federal form used to obtain financial aid for tuition.
The FAFSA program, which was presented bilingually, was led by Karrie Trautman from BCC’s financial aid office, who is also the director of Student Financial Services for Berkshire Community College. “During the program, we went over what information will be asked for the applicants, and information about what financial aid they will be qualified for once the work is completed,” Trautman told The Berkshire Edge. “I think that [LitNet] holding workshops to help immigrants get into college is wonderful because it provides services to our local community who are interested in going to college, specifically those in our immigrant community who are going to be first-generation students but are unfamiliar with the college application process. This process is not the easiest for individuals who are just starting their education careers, especially if there is a language barrier. A lot of the information and materials in college applications are available in both English and Spanish. But if you are unfamiliar with the process, including dealing with Social Security numbers, taxes, and income information, it’s not an easy process to complete, especially if you are not dealing with it regularly.”
“It’s very important to help members of the immigrant community when they apply to enter college,” said LitNet First-Generation College Coordinator Deisy Escobar. Escobar started working for LitNet in September and, in her role as its first-generation college coordinator, helps college applicants and their families with the application process by developing programming and community outreach. “The problem is that there are many of us out there who do not have all of the knowledge or information when it comes to applying for college,” Escobar said. “You need to have guides to help you take these steps, and especially guides who can speak your own language.”
Escobar is a first-year college student, and she shared her own experiences during her program. “Now that I’m in college, things are going great,” Escobar said. “There are all these opportunities opening up for me. I can only imagine how many opportunities that will open up for the people who attended today’s workshop. To me, [LitNet] is an organization that really does care deeply and goes above and beyond assisting learners and people in the community to achieve their personal goals and take their next steps towards their dreams.”
Other programs during the workshop included lessons on time management and preparations for completing essays on application forms.
The workshop was sponsored by the Taconic Community Fund.
For more information about the Literacy Network, visit its website.
