Guadalupe Navidad

Soledad Adult School Community Education Center

Nominated in 2024

Guadalupe Navidad was born in El Salvador and she came to the United States just before entering Soledad Adult School in 2018. Guadalupe first enrolled in our ESL classroom at our Gabilan Elementary School offsite location from Soledad Adult School’s main campus. Lupita, as we call her, was very involved in her children’s education as the too attended Gabilan Elementary School. Lupita was and still is involved at ELAC, DLAC, School Site Council at Gabilan and Main Street Middle School where her children attend. Aside from being a great student, she has a vocation for volunteerism. Everytime the office staff needed help in school events at Gabilan School, they would call Lupita. She always said yes with a big smile that lights up everyone’s day. Lupita will make a point to not go alone, and she rallied up classmates in her ESL class to step up and volunteer at Gabilan School. “Lupita to the rescue” as some of the office workers would say when they would call her to seek help at school events. Her volunteering at school sparked the interest in her to work at a school.

Her goal at Soledad Adult School was to work in Soledad, to be close to her children and be involved in their education. That was her motivation to learn English and take the HiSet class. In 2022, Lupita signed up for our morning HiSet class. She was fearful of the HiSet, and felt that she could not do it. Her plan B was to go back to ESL Advanced class and learn more English. Her teachers in ESL pushed her and cheered her on as she embarked in the HiSet. It wasn’t after the first test she took and passed, where we saw the determination she had to finish her HiSet. In addition to her HiSet class, and school involvement, she also volunteers for the Monterey County Food Bank distribution here in Soledad. Lupita greets everyone with that smile she has and a kind personality. She loves to support and give back to her community. The City of Soledad and the Soledad Unified School District are a better place because of Lupita’s involvement and countless hours of volunteering. In the fall of 2023, Lupita applied at Soledad Unified School District, and got a substitute position in the Food Service Department. Lupita has gained experience working with kitchen staff at all schools in the Soledad Unified School District, and has been working almost every day mainly at Rose Ferrero Elementary and Gabilan Elementary. She has worked as a cook and clerical at schools in the cafeteria.

Lupita is so happy to work in a job that is aligned with her children’s school schedule. We know when a full time position opens up in the district, Lupita will be first choice to fill that position in the Food Service Department. She is such a caring and compassionate person, and teachers, staff and students are happy when Lupita subs at their site. We know Lupita is a role model for her children, as both her kids are honor students at Gabilan Elementary and Main Street Middle School.