The students of ERHS constantly struggle with incredibly difficult classes on a daily basis. This difficult workload accompanied by various sports and after school activities can make school life very stressful, but imagine having to do all of these without knowing how to speak English.

This had been the situation of 2015 ERHS graduate Louis Telliano. Louis entered ERHS for the 2014-2015 school year and entered the 9th grade as a 20 year old student. This time frame put heavy constraints on what Louis could and could not do, but he said he was determined to succeed.

Louis came from his home country of Guinea at the forceful request of his mother. “My mother wanted me to have a good life, and it was not going to happen in Guinea,” said Louis. “I wanted to be successful, make my mother happy since she doesn’t know what it means to have a good life.” After starting school at ERHS, he became homeless which only added to his already numerous problems. Louis stated that, “although it was the most difficult years of my life, it did not stop me from wanting to graduate.” Despite all these problems, Louis still was fully committed to graduating from ERHS on time and with his class.

Like many of the ESOL students that attend ERHS, Louis began his high school journey in the introductory ESOL class where he met Ms. Yijia Zhu. In regard to her first meeting with Louis, Ms. Zhu stated that, “I knew this boy did not know any English because his mouth was full of French!” She added that “It takes many of the ESOL students about 4 to 5 years to graduate and for some it could take longer, but I knew Louis was different.” Louis excelled in the introductory ESOL class and was moved up to the intermediate course in a mere 4 months. Ms. Zhu commented that “Louis knew that he had a very short timeline before he would be allowed to graduate from ERHS.” This constraint further motivated him to earn all of his required credits and to graduate with the class of 2015.

In-school struggles like the language barrier and his academics were not the only obstacles on Louis’s path to graduating. “About halfway through the year, Louis became homeless,” said Ms. Zhu. He spent a good portion of the winter living in a run down car until “one day when Ms. Covington, people in the guidance office, Ms. Martin the People personnel worker (PPW)  discovered him in his car.” They eventually brought Louis into the school and gave him an assortment of supplies to help him stay afloat. They continued to give Louis assistance until he graduated. Ms. Zhu stated that, “Louis’s heart was warmed and this only further motivated him to perform in his classes.” The kindness shown to Louis was a collaborative effort that included input from Ms. Nicole Powell, Ms. Ayana Briscoe, Ms. Martin, Ms. Laurie Hortie, Ms. Lisa Howard, Ms. Covington and Ms. Devonne Johnson. According to Ms. Zhu, “I believe that the success of all our international students is a massive effort between the ESOL department” and other departments.

As his schooling progressed, Louis began to transfer some of his educational credits from Guinea to ERHS with the help of one of his teachers, Ms. Hortie. “Obviously, Louis had some credits that he earned in Guinea and he needed to have them transferred. With those credits and some really hard work, Louis would be able to graduate”, said Ms.Hortie.These transferred credits helped to accelerate Louis’s pace. According to Ms. Hortie, “As he got closer to graduating he did begin to slow down his pace with his studies but we made sure that he got his work done despite him not wanting to do it.”

Overall, Louis has succeeded through his own perseverance and with the help of his many teachers and advisers. Louis stated that, “I cannot use words to explain how many times these people mean to me. They were my teachers, my family, my moms and my dads. I owe them everything.”