Nathalie Bajinya

I believe that education is important because no one can ever take that from you."

"I was born in Congo but fled to Kenya as a war refugee when I was eight. For the next seven years I lived in an orphanage. While there, I took a class on how to make clothes and fell in love with it because that was the only thing I had. Here we have a lot of opportunities, but in some countries, there is no such thing.

When I was 15, I came to the U.S. through UNICEF and lived with a foster family. High school was challenging - I already spoke seven languages and could listen and speak well in English, but I didn’t know how to read or write it. I graduated, but I still needed to improve my English, so I enrolled at TCC in the ESL program.

At first it was hard and discouraging! I failed beginning writing in ESL the first two times I took it. I had no previous teaching for writing and didn’t even know how to take notes. It was hard, but I knew that if you want something, you have to be hungry for it. Most people in my home country don’t have the opportunity of education.

And so, I didn’t want to give up. I studied hard while working a job and finished ESL in 2016. I continued on with more classes and faced similar challenges. The teachers were tough but supportive, and it’s because of them that I’m now doing great.

I’m now in English 95 and will next take English 101. I’m getting A’s in many of my classes. Adult Basic Education has been phenomenal in my life; they told me that I could do this no matter what I was thinking. I haven’t always had someone in my life to encourage me like that.

I am also opening a clothing store near Lakewood. I’ll sell my own unique designs of clothes and jewelry. It makes me happy to make clothes for women who work and who care about how they look.

My goals are to finish my degree at TCC in marketing. I believe that education is important because no one can ever take that from you."