UF student Laura Mutis came to the United States from Colombia 10 years ago. She was an English for Speakers of Other Languages student in high school and was unsure how she would get into college. ESOL helps students from other countries learn and comprehend English.
Mutis, a 21-year-old economics and political science senior and founder of the ESOL Achievers Mentoring Program, said she understands the difficulties and barriers ESOL students face.
For the past three years, the ESOL Achievers Mentoring Program has worked with Gainesville High School, which is the only high school in Gainesville with an ESOL program, Mutis said.
On Wednesday, the ESOL Achievers Mentoring Program hosted One Step Forward in the Reitz Union. At the event, 28 ESOL students received a tour and talked to one professor from its college of interest. The colleges included engineering, business, journalism and liberal arts and sciences.
“We want to inspire them and show that they have support everywhere,” she said.
Louise Yariv, who teaches ESOL at Gainesville High School, said she hopes her students realized all they can do from this experience.
“The world is really open, and they can really do a lot,” Yariv said.
