Community Member Highlight - Laura Cerezo Varga, Mother of the Junior Mayor of Gaithersburg

November 22, 2019

In September MCAEL attended the Gaithersburg Principals Appreciation Breakfast. While attending I was impressed with the principals, the Gaithersburg City staff and with Diego Flores-Cerezo, the Junior Mayor of Gaithersburg. 


I had the pleasure of sitting at a table with his father who looked on in pride as his son delivered welcoming remarks. I wanted to learn more about Diego's family and they agreed to share some of their story in the context of ESOL with MCAEL. Here is Laura Cerezo Vargas, Diego's mom sharing her story with us:


"I am from Mexico from the state of Puebla. Since arriving in the United States, I have lived in Gaithersburg for more than 12 years. In my country I studied a little bit of English, but I never practiced it. When I arrived here, I found myself in need and understood that I had to learn to be able to communicate anywhere. 


I have taken ESOL classes in different schools, Gaithersburg High School, Montgomery Village Middle School, Gaithersburg Middle School and lastly an adult ESOL course at Montgomery College. I took English classes to validate the studies that I have in my country. In Mexico I studied nursing. I then took English classes to be able to communicate and help my children with their education, and now I continue taking classes to improve my work. I work as a Teacher Assistant in a Private Preschool. I have two children, one of four and Diego, who is 10 years old next month. Diego has found it a bit difficult to learn Spanish and the little one is excited to learn Spanish. I feel proud of where I am from, one of the ways I keep my culture alive is by celebrating Mexican holidays, for example a traditional celebration for us is the Day of the Dead honoring the memory of our ancestors. 


It has given us great pride and joy that our son has been serving as the Junior Mayor of the beautiful city of Gaithersburg. And it is a great experience as a family to share this with the Mayor and the members of the City Council of Gaithersburg. To other immigrant families I would say it’s important to talk about the experience we have had as parents, we are very supportive of our children. We believe that the fundamental thing is to keep the family together. 


During the time that I have lived in this country I have learned that it is essential to learn English. As immigrants, we are afraid of talking fearing that people will laugh at the way we talk. However, we must be willing to practice and not give up on learning another language".


Interview by Monica Casañas.

Cerezo Family In September MCAEL attended the Gaithersburg Principals Appreciation Breakfast. While attending I was impressed with the principals, the Gaithersburg City staff and with Diego Flores-Cerezo , the Junior Mayor of Gaithersburg. I had the pleasure of sitting at a table with his father who looked on in pride as his son delivered welcoming remarks. I wanted to learn more about Diego's family and they agreed to share some of their story in the context of ESOL with MCAEL. Here is Laura Cerezo Vargas, Diego's mom sharing her story with us:

I am from Mexico from the state of Puebla. Since arriving in the United States, I have lived in Gaithersburg for more than 12 years. In my country I studied a little bit of English, but I never practiced it. When I arrived here, I found myself in need and understood that I had to learn to be able to communicate anywhere. 

I have taken ESOL classes in different schools, Gaithersburg High School, Montgomery Village Middle School, Gaithersburg Middle School and lastly an adult ESOL course at Montgomery College. I took English classes to validate the studies that I have in my country. In Mexico I studied nursing. I then took English classes to be able to communicate and help my children with their education, and now I continue taking classes to improve my work. I work as a Teacher Assistant in a Private Preschool. I have two children, one of four and Diego, who is 10 years old next month. Diego has found it a bit difficult to learn Spanish and the little one is excited to learn Spanish. I feel proud of where I am from, one of the ways I keep my culture alive is by celebrating Mexican holidays, for example a traditional celebration for us is the Day of the Dead honoring the memory of our ancestors. 

It has given us great pride and joy that our son has been serving as the Junior Mayor of the beautiful city of Gaithersburg. And it is a great experience as a family to share this with the Mayor and the members of the City Council of Gaithersburg. To other immigrant families I would say it’s important to talk about the experience we have had as parents, we are very supportive of our children. We believe that the fundamental thing is to keep the family together. 

During the time that I have lived in this country I have learned that it is essential to learn English. As immigrants, we are afraid of talking fearing that people will laugh at the way we talk. However, we must be willing to practice and not give up on learning another language.

Interview by Monica Casañas

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