September 15 through October 15 marks the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month each year. This observation started in 1968 and was later expanded by President Ronald Reagan and enacted into law on August 17, 1988.

According to the National Archives, the purpose of this month is "to recognize the achievements and contributions of Hispanic American champions who have inspired others to achieve success."  

At Centro San Juan Diego, we celebrate not only the Hispanic American champions in our community, but also all the immigrants and non-Hispanics who work tirelessly to inspire success. 

As we head into the fall season, we reflect on the community's accomplishments from this past summer and beyond. Across programs, we have seen countless examples of how our diligent staff, dedicated volunteers, and tenacious students continue to motivate themselves, their families, and each other to greater success! 

Centro San Juan Diego recognized 15 deserving women with a graduation ceremony on July 2. After attending GED preparation classes at Centro, each student passed all four sections of the GED exam to earn her diploma. Several of these graduates, many of whom are mothers, celebrated this achievement not only for themselves, but for their whole families as well. 

For mothers like Rosa Castejón, from Juárez, Mexico, the opportunity to continue her studies was the realization of a dream that she had left behind many years ago.  

“As a child I always had good grades. I enjoyed learning. But after I finished elementary school, my parents told me that I couldn’t continue. ‘We can either pay for your school or we can eat,’ they told me,” Rosa says.  

The memory of this lost dream led Rosa to motivate her own children to finish school, until one day when her youngest son said, “Well that’s what happened when you were little, but what is stopping you now?” After laughing and responding that she was too old, her son insisted. “No, mom. If you want to, you can go back to school.” He started researching options and found Centro San Juan Diego.  

“It’s never too late to accomplish a dream,” Rosa said at the graduation. “I told my kids, ‘That is not your mom walking across the stage today, that is the 12-year-old Rosa who was told she couldn’t.”  

Laura González, a mother of three from Chihuahua, Mexico, found herself in a similar situation as a youth. Although she completed middle school at home while she worked, she never finished high school. “This has been a dream come true,” she says. “I always wanted to finish school and see the day of my own graduation. I always knew I could achieve more.”  

After Laura came to the United States, she realized that she could achieve her goals with hard work and patience. "We shouldn’t give up," she says. "It’s easy to lose hope if you don’t pass an exam, but if you tell yourself to keep going, there is almost always another opportunity to succeed. Now I can tell my kids, ‘If I did it, so can you.’”  

Obtaining her GED has encouraged Laura to continue moving forward. “I thought that it all ended here, with this achievement. But now I want to look for something more, because the reality is: this is just the beginning!"

Centro San Juan Diego is proud to congratulate Liceth Aguilar on her successful completion of her bachelor's degree in Law, which she earned through the Universidad Popular Autonoma del Estado de Puebla (UPAEP). 

Liceth was among the first students to join the UPAEP program at Centro San Juan Diego in 2012. Now, after nearly 9 years of study and hard work, she is happy to be the newest Licenciada of UPAEP. 

"Before getting involved in this program, I was working in construction and cutting hair," Liceth says. "I was a dinosaur! I didn't even know how to use the computer." Wanting to set a good example for her children, however, Liceth persevered. "I want to leave something for them, so that one day my kids can see that I accomplished this. There were so many times I wanted to give up, but I am so glad that UPAEP and Centro San Juan Diego continued to encourage me." 

Now, Liceth is doing much more than setting an example. She is dedicating her time, talent, and knowledge as a community leader and advocate for fellow immigrants and their families who are at risk for deportation or already in deportation proceedings.

Liceth and thirteen other UPAEP graduates will be recognized during a graduation ceremony at Centro San Juan Diego on October 22. 

Staff and volunteers from Centro San Juan Diego and the AARP Tax-Aide program celebrated the end of the 2020 tax season on July 16th. The consistent effort, sacrifice, and dedication demonstrated by the team resulted in a successful season for all, despite challenges like having fewer volunteers and significant restrictions due to the pandemic. 

By the end of the season, the Tax Aide volunteer team served a total of 517 clients, preparing 229 federal and 223 state tax returns that generated $294,425 in refunds. Of the total clientele served, 51% were Hispanic and 56% reported income of $40,000 or less.  

Both clients and volunteers adapted to a new service model with both in-person and remote components that drastically changed how tax returns were prepared and submitted. A process that, in past years, took 1.5 to 2 hours per client, took approximately 10 hours this season. CSJD staff and volunteers facilitated the process through numerous phone calls, translation of lengthy documents, scheduling multiple appointments, and the collection, review, and scanning of each client’s documents—all before a single return was prepared.  

The Centro San Juan Diego Tax-Aide site is recognized as the first primarily Hispanic AARP Tax-Aide site in the United States. Nearly all the volunteers are bilingual and attend an annual training at Centro prior to the start of each tax season to assist both English and Spanish-speakers file their tax returns. This year in particular, the situation demanded that each of them give generously of their time and effort!

English language learners celebrated the end of the summer session of classes on August 10th. Their sense of joy and accomplishment was apparent as they all took time to thank each other and their teachers. "Thank you to the teachers for your patience and sharing your knowledge," says Laura Fernandez. "And thanks to all my classmates for sharing with me, too!" Students laughed and joked with each other, demonstrating that, in addition to improving their English skills, they had also created a small community in their virtual classroom.

"I would like to thank Mr. Don [ESL teacher] and the entire Centro San Juan Diego staff for giving us the opportunity to improve ourselves and feel more comfortable going to work, our children's school, or just shopping," says Maria Dolores. Thanks to the ESL classes, she and 87% of her fellow students reported feeling more confident speaking English in public places where only English is spoken.

"I know you are teaching these classes for free, so the best way I can think to repay you is by coming to class every time. When I am working, I come home so tired and I just want to sleep or watch TV. But no, I need to learn! I really appreciate everything you do," says Angie Torres (pictured above). Her words are a beautiful testament to the dedication of Centro's students, staff, and volunteers who truly work together to inspire success in each other and within the community! 

Centro San Juan Diego is pleased to introduce Daniel Palomino as our newest Program Coordinator! Daniel joined Team Centro on August 2, but has been serving the Church and the community for the majority of his adult life. 

As an immigrant himself and former ESL student at Centro, Daniel has a unique understanding of the Hispanic community's needs and aspirations, and a calling to support and facilitate its success. "As an adult I have discovered that God's love is found in service," he says. "Not just through charities, or through family and friends, but through our jobs, our networks, our lifestyles." Daniel says he wanted to work at Centro so that he could have the opportunity to share God's love and help the community see that "our lives have meaning; we are valuable and necessary in this world, and that Centro is a place that helps us all to achieve that." 

Daniel says that seeing students' transformation from the start to end of a class has been his favorite part of working at Centro so far. "I see happy students enter the class full of curiosity and a desire to improve themselves. Then, on the last day of class they leave with the same courage and enthusiasm, but with new pride in their skills and achievements," he observes. "I am always surprised to see the progress that students make, even after they have told me they can't, or that it's too late for them to start studying. And then I see some of those same students become volunteers or class assistants!" 

Daniel has also been impressed by Centro's teachers. "They are really committed to our community," he says. "They love us and make us feel a part of theirs because there are no differences here. We are all children of God! They enjoy celebrating with us and learning about our food and our culture, but above all, seeing us get ahead, improving ourselves, and achieving our goals." 

Daniel hopes that the perseverance of both students and teachers continues to inspire the whole community and motivate us all to be an example of God's love in action!