After arriving in Washington, D.C., at age 14 speaking only Spanish, Stanley Gonzalez now thrives at the University of the District of Columbia. His journey reflects resilience, determination, and persistence.
Stanley Gonzalez’s journey to the University of the District of Columbia’s Van Ness Campus has been shaped by language barriers. Against all odds, Gonzalez is striving to obtain a bachelor’s degree in Human Development from the College of Arts and Sciences to work in the District public school system as a bilingual counselor, helping immigrant students thrive academically and personally.
Gonzalez is passionate about helping immigrant students and their families overcome English language barriers and challenges similar to those he faced in D.C. public high schools, career training programs, construction workplaces, and college.
Gonzalez came to the United States in 1998 at age 14 to join his parents and younger brother in Columbia Heights, D.C. He spoke only Spanish at that time. His parents fled El Salvador during the civil war of the 1980s and worked in Washington, D.C., to support their children, who remained with grandparents until reunification.
Reunification took time, but it finally happened. “My parents worked very hard to bring us to the United States,” Gonzalez said. “My brother and sister were so happy to come here.”
Living in Columbia Heights, Gonzalez enrolled in ninth grade at Cardozo Education Campus without understanding English. His brother—and later his sister—faced the same challenge. Together, they struggled to learn academic and everyday English. It was a rough start.
“I did not speak a word of English,” Gonzalez said. “I struggled to communicate in English, but I got help from the Spanish-speaking school counselors.” That support helped him navigate high school. With built-in English language support classes, he managed to learn English. He graduated from Cardozo with little understanding of how to apply to or pay for college.
After graduation, Gonzalez chose not to attend college. Instead, he went to a trade school for carpentry and began working in the construction industry to help his parents financially.
By 2007, he reconsidered college. His enrollment at Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School, an adult education school based in Columbia Heights, sparked this hope. There, he started over again, taking high-level English classes.
“I made up my mind to do my best to be successful this time because Carlos Rosario has a lot of bilingual support teachers and support staff to help,” Gonzalez said.
In 2013, Carlos Rosario opened its workforce development campus, Sonia Gutierrez Campus, near Rhode Island Metro Station. This adult education center provides job training to prepare immigrant students for high-demand fields,including the culinary arts, healthcare, education, and information technology.
Gonzalez was drawn to the program as a way to improve his life. It was very different from his high school years, and he valued the adult learning environment and exposure to different career pathways.
Gonzalez later enrolled in the school’s Bilingual Teacher Assistant Program. To build confidence in his academic skills, he took Microsoft Office and advanced English classes.
There, Gonzalez met an English teacher who changed his life. Mr. Ladd, known to students, is an English teacher with a background in journalism and linguistics. Gonzalez felt at home in his classroom, excelling in English and even taking Mr. Ladd’s class twice in one academic year.
With a stronger command of academic English, Gonzalez completed the program and enrolled at the University of the District of Columbia Community College in 2020. He earned an associate degree in Early Childhood Education in 2023.
With that accomplishment, Gonzalez transferred to UDC’s Van Ness Campus and enrolled in the School of Education and Learning Sciences to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Human Development.
Today, Gonzalez reflects on how far he has come, from arriving in the United States speaking only Spanish to succeeding in college and preparing for a career supporting immigrant students.
Written by Lena Almstrom, a contributor to The Trilogy News.
