Now 43, Lucille says that she was ashamed to enroll in literacy classes. When her sister-in-law was teaching at “Alpha Sans Frontiers”, she finally asked to attend. She wanted to know how to write better. She gained the confidence to become a store manager.

I have had to study hard during all my years in school. I passed the classes that required learning by heart. However, I failed the language classes because grammar, verbs, and dictations were my pet hate. I managed to get my high school diploma in 1979, but my writing skills were worthless. When my friend when to work far away, I would write to him. He would phone me that same night to find out what I had written. So, I stopped writing to him, because he couldn’t understand how I had been allowed to graduate, without knowing how to write better.

I began taking care of children for many years. When the last of my own children started school, I realized that I couldn’t help him. Since my neighbour and sister-in-law was teaching literacy classes, I finally asked her what I needed to do to attend the classes. She had often encouraged me to enroll, but I was too ashamed to do it. The night before I was to start, I couldn’t sleep since I was so nervous. When I arrived in class, the learners were already there. The teacher introduced me to the group and everyone welcomed me without judging me. That was the first lesson I learned in class, not to judge anyone. Everyone was there for the same reason: to learn.

After attending classes during the fall and winter, I had enough confidence to go and give my name at the lobster plant. I worked all summer, and in the fall I returned to the literacy class. During a few years, I kept my job at the lobster plant, right up until my allergies forced me to stop. Thanks to the confidence I was gaining, I signed up for a program where I did security and supervision. It’s there that I realized how much I liked working with the public. One day, someone mentioned to me that there was an opening in a store and I agreed to go work there. After two and a half years at that store, I was asked to become a manager in another store. It was the beginning of a big dream!

I would like to say that it’s adult literacy that opened this door for me. In these classes, we are like a family. We learn to know each other, to find ourselves, to respect and listen to others, and to have confidence in ourselves. Now that the door is open, it’s up to me to discover and realize my dreams.

Written by Lucille Cormier, Saint-Antoine, NB