Jermin Laviera’s 23-year odyssey with the Esperanza Center began on her wedding day.

“A few hours after getting married, my husband took me to the Esperanza Center to enroll in English as a second language class,” she says. “I had just arrived from Venezuela a week ago and spoke no English, but I thought I was going on my honeymoon.”

After completing the course, Jermin volunteered at the outreach center for immigrants and was later hired as a part-time employee. Today, she works as a community worker, helping clients navigate to diverse services at the Center and in the community. By sharing her story, she also inspires listeners with what they too can achieve.

What’s kept Jermin tethered to the Esperanza Center for more than two decades is her commitment to helping others the way she was helped. She says, “I love what we’re doing here at the Center. I come to work to help people and I love what I do.”