Carmen Buezo is a New American Pathways client who was resettled from Honduras and began working with the vocational counseling program to work to achieve her educational and career goals. Here, she writes about how New American Pathways helped welcome her and set her on a path to success.
Moving away from everything I knew and loved wasn’t easy, but it sure was necessary. As I boarded the plane, I couldn’t help but feel thrilled but terrified at the same time. I knew everything was going to be different, and New America Pathways made everything so much easier!
From the beginning I felt supported by everything New AP did; from small things like kindly being helped with our luggage when we arrived at the airport to the workshops they host. Workshops which were taught by amazing people, like Melodie and Alison, who didn’t just do everything for us, instead they taught us how and what we needed to do – hence the metaphor of being taught to fish not just receiving fish.
The resettlement process would have been so much more difficult without the help of New AP and the people who work there like Megan, who was always there to answer any question or doubt we had as well as to celebrate our triumphs like her own.
I am forever immensely grateful for New American Pathways and the love and passion everyone who works there radiates. As well as for the information given to us. It was because of one of their workshops that I applied to Year Up, which is a one-year training program that provides low-income young adults between the ages of 18-24 an opportunity to grow and learn with no cost whatsoever. And I’m overjoyed to say that I have been accepted and start next month.
I now also have in my plans to attend a university and major in Applied Linguistics thanks to the fantastic vocational counselor Melodie, who explained the process and gave me the hope I needed to keep learning. I now only hope I can give back the aid that was given to me and help other families adjust to a different country.