Dr. Lizzie Louis is The Excel Center’s English Language Arts instructor. She begins her class periods with a five-minute journaling exercise, asking our adult learners to answer any of the following questions, or simply write about what they are feeling in that moment.
- What is your dream?
- What makes you anxious?
- How are you doing today?
The goal of this exercise is to help students get to know each other, to help them get in the habit of writing and to create a safe environment where, by sharing their hopes, fears and dreams, they can elevate each other to achieve their goals.
Watch this short clip of Dr. Lizzie teeing up the assignment.
After the students journaled for several minutes, Dr. Lizzie went around the room and asked each student to share what they had written. Some of the students needed coaxing to share; others were more vocal. Of the ten or so students in the class, all but one were female. These remarkable women each shared how they, for the most part, had dropped out of high school because they had a child and then devoted their life to caring for their family. But for many of these students, they felt the pull of unfinished business, and wanted to achieve the goal of attaining their diploma.
For the women in Dr. Lizzie’s class whose children were now grown or nearly grown, several said, “This is my time. I have given to my family for years, and now I need to do this for myself,” and similar sentiments were echoed around the room.
Their career aspirations ranged from ultrasound tech, to real estate agent, to registered nurse. One of the moms in the room, Crystal, shared about what she had journaled. She said she had cried several times that day already, was feeling overwhelmed, and was nervous about how she was going to juggle her classes and caring for Luis, her adorable toddler who was with her in the classroom as he was a bit too young for The Excel Center’s free onsite drop-in childcare provided by the YMCA of Metro Denver.
Several of the other women in the room encouraged Crystal: “I’ll help you; I have kids.” “I got you.” “We’ll help each other.”
Within a few minutes of starting their first class together, the group had already bonded by identifying and articulating some of their deepest fears and their loftiest aspirations.
The goals of The Excel Center include removing barriers, and crucially, creating a supportive environment where our staff meet our students wherever they are on their journey to attaining their diploma. Along the way, The Excel Center provides supports including dual-credit classes, transportation assistance, free professional certification instruction, life coaching and English-language instruction.
If you or someone you know would like to learn more about The Excel Center, click here.
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