Like many eager young students, Tahirah will be starting college this September. Unlike most co-eds, however, she will be kicking off her college career just 18 months after arriving in the United States from her native Bangladesh with a ninth-grade education.
Tahirah was 21 years old when she first set foot in the U.S. in January of 2024. Resolute in her goal to obtain an American GED, she registered for classes at SSND Educational Center in Woodhaven, NY, just three weeks later, having already passed two of the four test subjects on her own. By June of that year, she had passed a third. The final section, Reading Language Arts, proved more difficult for her; she failed twice before passing on her third try with the help of SSND Educational Center teacher Sister Cathy Feeney. Immediately upon receiving her GED, Tahirah took the next step in her journey, approaching SSND Educational Center Executive Director Francine Poppo for help in applying to college.
Sister Bernadette Alfieri teaches introductory English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) at SSND Educational Center.
Tahira’s determination is emblematic of the kind of tenacity required of immigrants as they navigate the many obstacles before them. To help them succeed, SSND Educational Center—a sponsored ministry of the Atlantic-Midwest Province—provides women with a range of educational services that help them jump those hurdles.
All the center’s English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) students are immigrants, a population with a high probability of facing housing instability, food insecurity, discrimination, and fear of deportation. In addition, many immigrant women are discouraged or even hindered by their families in their efforts to seek education.
Despite all those barriers, the women at SSND Educational Center persevere. Many students pass the center every morning as they walk their children to school, then circle back to begin their own classes; at the end of the day, they head directly to their children’s school for pickup. One student, a single woman in her 20s who supports her seven-year-old niece, frequently struggles to stay awake in her GED class after working the night shift.
Volunteer GED math teacher Theresa Jaffe works with a student at SSND Educational Center.
That same kind of intense resolve can be found among students at MORE, a sponsored ministry of the Central Pacific Province. Located in St. Paul, Minnesota, MORE operates primarily as an English language learning facility while also providing its clients with access to basic needs services such as free food and clothing distribution.
Situated across the street from the McDonough Housing Community, MORE serves both women and men, most of whom are refugees. The majority of MORE’s students are within walking distance of the facility, but some go to great lengths to take advantage of the services MORE has to offer. One seventy-five-year-old student travels two hours by bus each morning and each afternoon to attend classes. He has worked diligently to become more proficient with English and just recently became a U.S. citizen.
Although English language instruction is MORE’s bread-and-butter, they also teach civics, digital literacy, critical thinking, and GED prep. In addition, MORE works with businesses to help design curricula that are relevant for specific jobs and holds classes at job sites that regularly hire students. Such classes might focus on learning the names of fruits and vegetables, becoming familiar with the parts of circuit boards, or being trained on safety protocols for factory work.
In addition to some of the hard skills taught at MORE and SSND Educational Center, a variety of soft skills are fostered, as well. The staff at both ministries coach students on how to practice self-care, how to communicate their needs and emotions, and the importance of accountability, time management, and teamwork. They also work on building students’ confidence and helping them find constructive ways to resolve conflicts. Those lessons manifest in many ways—with students beginning to show up for class more consistently and on time, assisting one another with assignments, and successfully managing difficult relationships.
“Growth and success come in a variety of packages and are not always visible—not always the certificate in hand, whether it’s a GED or completion of all levels of our ESOL program,” said Francine. “It also includes the small, sometimes invisible successes, the ones that build us up as individuals, as children of God, as members of a family or a community, and as empowered women ready to keep doing the work.”
Sister Cathy Feeney (second from left) founded SSND Educational Center in 2004 along with two other School Sisters of Notre Dame. She continues her involvement at the center, teaching ELA writing and citizenship prep.
Building community is a big part of the mission of both ministries. At SSND Educational Center, students not only learn together, they also gather for daily reflection. At Thanksgiving, they share a potluck lunch to which each student brings a favorite dish to share with the larger community. Around Christmas, they come together to sing songs and reflect on the meaning of their different holy days. Throughout the year, the women celebrate one another’s joys and successes and lift each other up when times are difficult.
That sense of community goes beyond current students. The center’s 2023-24 cohort has stayed in close touch and has seen each other through the birth of a child, the death of a parent, a move into a homeless shelter, two home health aide certifications, two new jobs, and even a classmate in her 30s having a stroke. “Our former students contacted us to update us on these important celebrations and sad times,” said Francine. “They were the ones enlisting our help for their classmates.”
At MORE, many former students come back to volunteer, and an annual 5K fundraiser draws multiple generations of past students and their families. Some former students have even gone beyond volunteering, eventually moving into positions on the MORE staff.
Babita Sapkota makes sure students at MORE are well-fed.
Babita Sapkota, who serves as MORE’s basic needs coordinator and office assistant, came to the United States from Nepal in 2010 knowing just three words of English. She joined her first English class at MORE in 2013 and is now a United States citizen. “When I joined MORE, the teachers were so helpful,” said Babita. “They taught me how to survive, showed me how to use the bus route, how to use a map, reading, writing, speaking. They helped me understand my mail and helped me apply for health insurance.”
When the basic needs coordinator position opened in 2023, a MORE teacher encouraged a reluctant Babita to apply. “When I was hired, I was so happy!” said Babita. “Everybody’s heart is beautiful at MORE.”
Those beautiful hearts striving in ever-changing ways to deepen relationships of communion and transform lives through education in its broadest sense are the backbone of SSND ministries. “As our board chair Sister Kathleen Cornell always says, the SSND charism is not just a ‘thing’ that can be defined,” said Francine. “It’s an evolving response to the community—that sweet spot where our gifts of the Holy Spirit and our intention to respond to the needs of the community meet with the women we serve and their current needs.”