Evelia Cerna

Corona-Norco Adult School

Nominated in 2021

Evelia Cerna is a model Adult Education student. She started in the ESL program about 18 years ago when her children were in elementary schools. She has three children who are now adults, between 21 and 33 years. Her oldest child was 15 then, so her priority was her children. Attending classes in the ESL program at the elementary school offered by Corona-Norco Adult School helped her support her children. It also inspired her involvement in the Parent Teacher's Association (PTA), which allowed her to advise other parents in the community. She was the president of CNUSD's DELAC for 7 years.

Ms. Cerna also attended classes at the local college and gained a lot of insight into the education system. Unfortunately, because of the lack of documents, she could not continue at the college. However, she used what she learned to support her children's transition to college and the university. She is also the go-to person for other parents in the CNUSD community.

When her children graduated from high school and went on to college, Evelia decided to get a high school diploma or equivalency. She started in the adult basic education classes in 2014 and attempted the GED test. Incidentally, she was insistent on learning English well and chose to do the high school diploma. Although it was very difficult juggling housekeeping, a job, and taking care of her children, learning to complete her high school diploma was the best part because she loves world history and literature. She aced all her high school diploma credit courses except algebra.

Recently, Evelia got a job at a local manufacturing company. She plans to attend the workforce preparation and short-term CTE classes between her job and housekeeping. She is also applying for substitute jobs at CNUSD through the Employment and Education Conference organized by CNAS, where workshops on applying through Edjoin are a yearly practice. Evelia says that this is just the beginning. With the help of her youngest daughter, her family's emotional support, and the adult education school, she knows that the right opportunity that meets her skills, experience, and potential will come her way. For now, she is looking forward to the graduation ceremony.