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Andres Somoza, 19 years old
Andres and the UMMA Center:
Andres Somoza, a Salvadorian, American born and raised on the North Side of Chicago, to a single mother. As a child, Andres was taken away from his mother and placed in numerous foster and youth homes, all of which he ran away from. Influenced by his peers, he was slowly sucked into a lifestyle of drugs, crime and gangs. This lifestyle would carry on into most of his teenage years, until late 2004, when a then 17 year old Andres found the UMMA Center. With the assistance of the UMMA Center, Andres was able to obtain his GED which helped him dramatically change his life for the better. Andres is currently living on his own, in a lovely apartment in downtown Waukegan. He is attending College of Lake County as a part-time student and is also working part-time for the UMMA Center.
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Marilyn Washington, 30 years old
Marilyn and the UMMA Center:
Marilyn grew up with a single mother and endured an difficult childhood. Today, Marilyn is married and the mother of 10 children ranging in age from ( 1-22 ). Marilyn came to the UMMA Center in March 2005. Since then, Marilyn has passed 4 out of the 6 GED exams. She also recently passed the Certified Nurse Aid (C.N.A) examination in her pursuit to secure a career in the Nursing field. Marilyn is working hard to provide a ‘better life’ for herself and her family. Marilyn is an inspiration for her children. With her dedication, ambition and hard work, we at the UMMA Center are certain that Marilyn will achieve her dreams.
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Jesus Quebrado, 30 years old
Jesus and the UMMA Center:
Jesus was born and raised in Mexico. He immigrated to the United States 7 yrs ago (in 1998). Jesus is currently unemployed and on workman's’ compensation for a back injury. He is married and has two young children. Since Jesus joined the UMMA he has completed 4 out of the 6 GED exams. He intends to complete the 2 remaining exams within the next month. With the help of UMMA Center, Jesus received a complete one year scholarship from the College of Lake County for the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) certification. Like Marilyn, Jesus works very hard in order to provide a better life for himself and his family.
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Raul Olivares, 27 years old
Raul and the UMMA Center:
Raul was born and raised in Mexico. He moved to the United States 5 yrs ago. While in Mexico, Raul had dropped out of school when he was only in grade 5. Raul came to the UMMA Center by the end of 2004. With the help of the UMMA Center volunteers Raul has passed 2 out of the 6 GED exams. Also, Raul has been able to obtain a scholarship from the College of Lake County to study automotive technology. Raul is working hard to secure a career in the automotive industry. Eventually Raul aspires to own an auto-repair shop. Raul, has proved himself to be a very dedicated student at the UMMA Center. He works diligently and also has a full time job at a local grocery store. Raul actively volunteers at the UMMA center.
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Hassana Tarabah, 40 years old
Hassana and the UMMA Center:
Hassana was born and raised in Lebanon. She came to the United States in 2005 as a single mother of 4 young children and the sole caretaker of her elderly mother. Hassana, came to the to the UMMA center to pursue computer training. After completing computer training classes at the UMMA center, Hassana now owns a computer and feels very competent navigating through it. Hassana told us that, “the UMMA center has helped me feel better about myself and has helped me adjust to living in the US”!
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Geannell Jackson, 57 years old
Geannell and the UMMA Center:
Geannell was born in Chicago, and raised in Harvey, Illinois. She is a single mother of 2 girls, grandmother to 11 children and great grandmother to 2 children. Geannell was recuperating from back surgery when she came to the UMMA Center in 2005. Her goal was to learn about computers. She completed all the computer training classes and obtained her completion certificate. With that she was promoted at work and now holds a full-time administrative assistant position.
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Anne Wiggins, 54 years old
Ann and the UMMA Center:
Anne Wiggins has 3 children, is divorced and was born and raised in Chicago, IL. Before coming to the UMMA Center, Anne had moved to Waukegan, IL for drug rehabilitation. After her rehab was over, Anne determined to give herself a new start, came to the UMMA Center with the hope that she’d be able to fulfill her GED requirements. With the support of the UMMA center and with her dedication, Anne completed all the required courses and passed her GED Exam. Anne was grateful to the UMMA center for “being there for me. Offering me one-on-one support and free classes, Otherwise, I could not have afforded it.”
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