Marion- McDowell Technical Community College is leveraging new funding from a U.S. Department of Education Title II grant authorized under the Workforce Investment Opportunity Act (WIOA) to jumpstart workforce development opportunities and cultural assimilation for a large and growing LatinX population in McDowell County. Under the Integrated English Language and Civics Education (IELCE) portion of the WIOA program, a significant focus of the college’s efforts center around acquisition of English language skills among the Hispanic population.
“It is our purpose to help alleviate labor shortages for our business and industry partners,” said Dr. Brian S. Merritt, President at McDowell Tech. “By breaking down cultural and language barriers that have historically prevented LatinX residents from filling open positions in the labor market, we can do just that. While the U.S. Census Bureau indicates the LatinX community represents 6.5% of the population in McDowell County, our friends at Centro Unido Latino Americano (CULA) and others know that the number of Hispanic residents nationwide has been significantly underreported for decades and the true number of LatinX residents in this area is much higher than 6.5%.”
Merritt and other college administrators, especially Penny Wacaster, Director of College and Career Readiness and Human Resources Development, have devised a multi-pronged plan to address these issues and increase cultural diversity in the college community. Using the IELCE and Title II funds, the college has hired two new staff members to assist with marketing and recruiting efforts for workforce development and curriculum programs, as well as instruction for English Language Acquisition and related classes.
Laura Salas, College and Career Readiness Instructor
Laura Salas came to McDowell Tech in December after a career spanning 33 years in teaching and school administration in both the United States and her native Costa Rica. Most recently, she taught for 7 years in the Spanish immersion program at Eastfield Global Magnet School in Marion. That program, more commonly known as the SPLASH program, teaches Spanish to native English-speaking students in kindergarten through 5th grade. Previously, Salas taught students of all ages in Costa Rica, where she also served for several years as a school principal. At the college level, she taught classes in school administration and teacher preparation. She holds a bachelor’s degree in education and a master’s degree in educational administration from the Universidad de Costa Rico in San Jose, Costa Rica.
Salas came to the United States about 7 ½ years ago as part of a cultural exchange program with her husband, Eric Cespedes, and her daughter, Abigail, who was 6 ½ years old when the family first moved to Marion. Abigail is now an 8th grade student at Foothills Community School in Marion, but is already studying advanced math at McDowell High. Eric paints cars at TD Customs Paint and Body in Asheville.
“I am so proud of Abigail,” said Salas. “She is a miracle that God gave me. She is part of the reason my husband and I decided to come to America. We wanted her to learn English and experience the culture here. She feels ‘American’ now and is so proud to be here.”
Last fall, the family went back to Costa Rico for a few months to visit family and friends and to renew their Visa to return to the United States. She began working for McDowell Tech in December, teaching a variety of College and Career Readiness classes for the LatinX community, primarily ESL (English as a Second Language) and GED classes McDowell Tech offers at East Marion Independent Pentecostal Holiness Church (IPHC) in Spanish on Baldwin Avenue.
“I feel like coming here was the best decision we ever made, not just for Abigail, but for all of us,” said Salas. “It has given us an opportunity to get into the culture here and to help the Hispanic community. This center is a place where LatinX students can learn English, study a variety of academic subjects, prepare for further education or careers and become a productive, useful member of this community.”
“It was wonderful visiting with our family last fall,” she said. “But after four months there, we were ready to come back. We feel like Marion is our home now, and I am so thankful to be back. I am growing a lot, learning more about processes and methods of adult education and ESL.
“When I taught college in Costa Rica, most of the students were younger and were preparing to become teachers. Here, we work with lots of different ages and backgrounds. What I love is that this place is so welcoming. Students feel comfortable coming here by themselves or with their children. We have grandmothers, daughters, sons and even granddaughters. It is amazing! Everybody comes in and does their work, but during breaks, they are laughing and talking and enjoying themselves. They really want to be here. It is exciting to see.
“Some families don’t feel like they belong (in America) yet, but at our center, they feel safe, loved, respected and valued,” she said. “We show them God’s love. I am so thankful and blessed to be here.”
MTCC Classes at East Marion IPHC in Spanish
East Marion IPHC in Spanish started teaching classes at their church in 2018, and Salas was part of that effort. But McDowell Tech was not a partner during the early years of the program. For a period of time, the center closed during the pandemic. When McDowell Tech signed on as a partner last fall, everything changed. With funding secured by McDowell Tech, all classes are now free, which has made the program much more accessible for students. Previously 20-22 students was an average class size, but when registration ended for January classes, 80 students had enrolled.
The program is meeting a real need for students who originally came to America from a variety of countries: Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Ecuador, for example. Some can’t read or write in English at all. Others are better educated, such as one gentleman who was a teacher in his native country, but doesn’t have credentials to teach in America. Another young man left his home country two months before his high school graduation; now he is starting over working on his GED and taking ESL classes.
“People want to improve, no matter how hard they have to work. Some are starting over in America with nothing. They need our company, sympathy and support,” said Salas. “It is hard for them here. We tell them that ‘We can help you make it.’ We even offer childcare classes for those who need it.”
Two GED classes are offered at East Marion IPHC in Spanish in the morning and two at night. There is a computer class during the day and one at night. Basic ESL is taught during the day, but three levels are offered at night. The church, McDowell Tech’s partner, is also offering Spanish classes to English-speaking adults, as well as theological studies. There is something for almost everyone, said Salas. The church’s pastors are a husband and wife team, both of whom are licensed pastors: Jennifer Carillo and Ricardo Gonzales. Carillo also serves as the office manager for the church’s programs. To register for any of the classes, call 828-559-2189.
Silvia Martin del Campo, LatinX Director
Silvia Martin del Campo began her job as McDowell Tech’s new LatinX Director in early January. She has a bachelor’s degree in education from Universidad Anahuac in Mexico City, where she was born and raised. For 8 years, she taught at an international school known as the Colegio Ciudad de Mexico. For the past 6 years, she taught in the SPLASH program at Eastfield Global Magnet School, like Salas.
Also like Salas, she and her husband, Carlos Madera, fell in love with Marion over the last few years. Carlos worked at Aria Solutions in Old Fort. When it was time to renew their Visas, she looked at teaching positions in many other locations around the country, since she holds teacher licensure in other states, including larger ones like Michigan and Texas. But Marion is where she and her family wanted to be. “My heart needed to be here,” she said. “My family wanted Marion to be our forever home.”
She was so happy when Stacy Buff, Associate Vice-President of Workforce Education at McDowell Tech, called to offer her the LatinX Director position. “I am so happy to be here, to serve the community I know and to make good things happen. I tell prospective students, ‘Come to McDowell Tech and see what we can do for you. If you want to be a nurse or engineer, we can make it happen for you… and so forth. Let’s see how we can help you achieve your goals.’”
Silvia has also been active in community activities since her family first came here. She organized the first Dia’ de los Muertos Festival in Marion a few years ago and continues to help manage the event. “I like to share my culture,” she said. El Dia’ de los Muertos is a popular fall tradition in Mexico with historic roots in Christianity, and possibly indigenous cultures. The name translates as ‘The Day of the Dead’ in English.
In addition, Silvia volunteers with CULA; frequently goes with non-English speakers to doctor appointments, teacher conferences and such to provide translation services; and is active at IChurch (Inspire Church) in Hickory, a multi-denominational, multi-cultural church serving NC residents who hail from 26 different countries around the world.
Silvia’s Job
Currently, Silvia’s position is shared with Isothermal Community College, so she works on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Isothermal in Spindale and at McDowell Tech the rest of the week. A large part of her job is coordinating and marketing the two colleges to members of the LatinX community, and she will continue to build new workforce training programs specifically geared to the LatinX population. Although she has only been on the job a few weeks, she is already working on programs to ease the transition of primarily Hispanic students to the college environment.
“We want to create an environment where students can feel welcome, where they can feel safe and where they can have a positive experience,” she said. “Part of that is orienting them on how to do certain things, where to find things they need and so forth. Some of these students are far from the places they once called home. We want them to know that we can assist them, even with transitions outside of the college environment. We try to break down barriers of time and location by offering day, night and online classes, for example.”
Learning how to communicate in English is a part of the process, and helping them learn to communicate also helps the community.
Silvia herself once lived in Stockholm, Sweden. When she moved there, she thought the transition would be easy because she was fluent in both English and Spanish, and many residents of Stockholm can speak English. What she found, however, was that most of the people she met chose not to speak English, except for some younger folks. “Having gone through that, I know what students who come to this country must feel, because I felt it in Stockholm. ‘How do I get here or there?’ ‘How do I pay this or do that?’ Here, I want to be a bridge to get students the tools that they need to be successful.”
“We are so lucky to have these talented and passionate women to join us in our outreach efforts to the LatinX community and help them find jobs with family-sustaining wages and become productive members of America,” said Dr. Brian S. Merritt, the MTCC President. “When we accomplish those goals, we are also helping our businesses and industry leaders meet their workforce development needs. It is a win-win for everyone in our community and region.”
