3 WAYS TO LISTEN
1. Listen to the full article here.
2. Right click here and “save as” to save an mp3 of the article to your computer.
3. Listen to sections of the article by pressing the play buttons that appear before a set of words in the article below (coming soon!).
READING LEVEL 8
Learn How to Be an Advocate
Ana Chavarin
When I was an adult basic education student at Pima Community College, I took the Adult Education Ambassador training. I learned how to advocate for funding for adult education. After my training, I took a trip to Washington, DC, to meet with legislators.
This trip to DC was very important to me for several reasons. First, I was representing other students like me. We have worked so hard to manage time and energy to be head of household and also go to school and pursue an education. I wanted to tell my story (and the stories of people like me) to our elected officials in DC. If they see our faces and hear our stories, they learn that we are more than just a line in the budget.
Second, as immigrants and as working parents, we have much to give to our new country, the United States. We want to better our lives and give back to the community. I wanted to make sure that the elected officials in DC looked at us as an investment and not as a burden to our economy. When congresspeople invest in education, they are investing in the whole community.
Ana Chavarin is a former adult basic education student at Pima Community College in Tucson, AZ. In 2019, she finished her Associate’s degree at Pima Community College and has transferred to the University of Arizona to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. She works as a community organizer with the Interfaith Council, and she still works at her original night-time job from when she came to Tucson in 2003 – cleaning offices.