CORE The Learning Center

When Alondra Longoria moved from Texas to Elba with her parents and two brothers, she was a shy, quiet 19-year-old who spoke no English.

That was about three years ago. And oh, how things have changed for the soft-spoken young lady. She took English as a Second Language classes, graduated with a general education diploma, and is pursuing her citizenship and, most importantly, a future.

“It feels good. You have to have goals to keep going and know what you are going to do with your life,” the now 23-year-old said during an interview at the CORE Learning Center in Batavia. “We have to keep going, and no matter what happens, you have to keep going and complete your goals to be a better person, to learn and keep going with life.”

Nobody said it was easy. The former Alondra was an uncertain teenager who first moved to Texas with her farm-working mom and dad four years ago. They emigrated from Mexico mostly for financial reasons, she said, to earn more money and improve their lives. She left behind family members -- grandmas -- friends, and the only culture she had known.

And Alondra has encountered racism by being told to "go back to your own country."

"We are good people that work every day, and sometimes we work to get this country better too," she said. "Those things can hurt; they're not a good thing to say."

The family obtained green cards, and eventually opted to move across the country to Elba, a community rich in farming opportunities. Alondra’s aunt already lived there, so they had a connection to working the cash crop fields. Her parents get up each weekday to work in the fields from 7 a.m. to 7 or 8 p.m. five days a week, and a shorter time span on Saturday. Sundays are reserved for cherished family time.

Alondra worked at the Agri-Business daycare in Batavia until she learned about The CORE Learning Center. It offers adult basic education, high school diploma preparation, ESL, college prep and various other certification classes. A spacious classroom was waiting for Alondra at 1 Mill St., and she said she enjoyed working with the staff and students she encountered.

Adult Educator Amy Andrews clearly remembers those first days of seeing Alondra.

“At first we couldn’t get her to talk,” Andrews said with a suggestive laugh. “Now, we can’t get her to stop.”

Her student agreed, adding that “it’s a good thing.”

At first, her life in Genesee County was filled with the inability to read, write or speak any English. She communicated through her one older brother, Alejandro. But as time went by, those English lessons — filled with confusing and contradictory rules — began to make sense, Alondra said.

Although she had graduated from high school in Mexico, that isn't valid in New York State. So she studied for, and passed, a state general education test. She graduated with a diploma in December 2021.

She gave a stern glance to Andrews during the interview, indicating that some lessons were to be kept secret. They both laughed and shared anyway.

“Now that she talks more, she likes to argue with me,” Andrews said.

They encountered words that just didn’t translate from English to Spanish very well, she explained. So when discussing the word “toes,” Alondra argued that they are “foot fingers” according to her native language translation.

Adapting to America was a practical thing to do, Alondra said. “When you don’t have nobody that speaks Spanish, you have to learn it (English),” she said. “I was nervous and it was scary. I grew up speaking Spanish. I have to learn another language and communicate with people who speak with a different language.”

She was in an intimate setting of three classmates, two who spoke Spanish and one Thai-speaking person. They were provided with workbooks, in-person lessons, and a program they could study at home on a computer. Alondra, in turn, brought in homemade cakes to share with the class and staff. One of those yummy creations was a rosca de reyes, a ringed cake with a baby figurine baked into the batter, topped with fruit in the colors of the Mexican flag. Whoever gets the piece of cake with the baby inside has to make tamales for everyone. But Alondra didn't enforce that part of the tradition, she said.

Adding to her accomplishments of a diploma and ability to understand English, Alondra was awarded Student of the Year by the New York Association for Continuing and Community Education, a statewide agency that provides information and support for professionals serving the needs of lifelong learners.

Alondra is one of three recipients from this CORE branch, which covers Allegany, Genesee, Orleans, Livingston, Cattaraugus and Wyoming counties. There will be a presentation at a banquet on Oct. 25 in Albany. Yes, that means putting her new skills to work with an acceptance speech.

As one of the motivational phrases on the wall says, “you got this.” And she does.

“It means a lot to me that people have recognized some of the struggles I have overcome,” she says in her speech. “Four years ago I left my country, and with it, family and friends, behind. I had to start over in a new country without knowing the language. I moved to Texas, and then came to New York, and it was the best decision that I made.”

She found “very good teachers” at Literacy West, a subdivision within CORE Learning Center, and they helped her to complete many goals, including improving her speech and writing. That all led her to one end result, and a new beginning.

“I’m looking forward to learning sign language and starting a career in cosmetology,” she said.

She and fellow award recipients Jerry Finch from the Olean site and Jessie McCray from Warsaw will be accompanied by Literacy West NY staff to receive their awards and take a tour of the capital.

“These students have all experienced adversity and hardships that lead them to our program, and have persevered to reach their educational and occupational goals,” Executive Community Relations Coordinator Adrianna Seewaldt said. “We are proud of their accomplishments and truly believe that they will continue to achieve their future goals.”

For more information, go to CORE2learn.org.

Top Photo: Alondra Longoria, originally from Tamaulipas, Mexico, has become comfortable at the CORE Learning Center in Batavia after taking ESL lessons and graduating with her high school equivalency diploma; Alondra and Adult Educator Amy Andrews chat in the classroom at 1 Mill St., Batavia; Amy Andrews displays one of the lesson boards to incorporate English words into students' vocabulary. Photos by Joanne Beck. Submitted photo of Alondra with her diploma.