A special recognition ceremony was held recently for ninety nine students from Holland College?s Adult and Community Education department. The students in the ceremony have completed various levels of the Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC), the Enhanced Employability Essential Language Skills (EEELS), and the English as a Second Language (ESL) programs, where they acquire English skills.
Funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada, the main purpose of the LINC training program is to develop communication through reading, speaking, listening and writing so that each student is able to integrate into Canadian Society with ease, and is able to become a self-sufficient member of his or her community. Language training is provided in levels 1 to 8, and based on National Benchmark standards. Participants practice oral communications in multi-level presentations, aided by computer-based language training.
Currently in the program there are 16 countries represented and 22 languages and dialects spoken. Many cultures are mixed together to form a very strong family.
The Master of Ceremonies for the event was Josephine Abambu from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Representing the various levels were student speakers Zahra Aden, Level 1 student, Nasim Amiri, Level 2/3 student, Carlos Cifuentes, Level 4/5 and Do Je Ho, EEELS.
In his speech, Level 2/3 student Nasim Amiri from Afghanistan, said, ?We are students who come from 16 countries. We are studying very hard and together we are like one family. Thank you to all of our teachers as it is not easy teaching students from so many different countries and languages. We all respect each other.?
Following is a list of the graduating students, as provided by the College:
LINC Level 1 Zahra Aden Ahmed, Somalia; Tolibjon Rahimov, Uzbekistan; Tian Long Chen, China; Swarnalatha Rajapalsha, Sri Lanka; Mohamad Hassan, Somalia; Fazila Mohamad Zamir, Afghanistan; Madeleyne Espa?a, Colombia; Ofelia Prada, Colombia; Nadera Bakhshendah, Afghanistan; Anab Kulane Hashi, Somalia; Aissatu Fofanah, Sierra Leone; Siqin, Mongolia; Mohammad Alam Abdul Hakin, Afghanistan; Yassah Sumo, Liberia; Simeon Galeano, Colombia.
LINC Level 2/3 Mohammad Nasim Amiri, Afghanistan; Wahidullah Sultan Aziz, Afghanistan; Felipe Cardona, Colombia; Linh Ho, Vietnam; Dadullah Bakhshi, Afghanistan; Mishoma Nkulu Wa Hangi, Democratic Republic of Congo; Naser Lika, Kosovo; Mohamed Mara, Sierra Leone; Upali Mudiyansela, Sri Lanka; Ryve Lika, Kosovo; Zakieh Rassi, Iran; Gulzada Tohtieva, Kyrgyzstan; Mileisy Maestre, Colombia; Antonio Vallejo, Colombia; Nazar Bakhshendah, Afghanistan; Victoria Romero, Colombia; Lee Li (Zhuo), China.
LINC Level 4/5 Josephine Abambu, Democratic Republic of Congo; Elsa Arias, Colombia; Kavari Bangla, India; Jacqueline Baruti, Democratic Republic of Congo; Ivan Calle, Colombia; Alberto Cardona, Colombia; Carlos Cifuentes, Colombia; Siyad Guhad Guled, Somalia; Niyan Mohammed Hasan, Iraq; Hadzhira Hassan, Afghanistan; Mabel Hernandez, Colombia; Walker Jibba, Liberia; Michele Lihrman, France; Papy Nkulu, Democratic Republic of Congo; Patty Oh, South Korea; Jae Bum Park, South Korea; Kamal Rahim, Iraq; Yolanda Rebolledo, Colombia; Forkpa Sumo, Liberia; Gbelee Sumo, Liberia; Elena Udalaya, Russia; Ling Yuan Tzang, Taiwan; Martha Sandoval, Colombia; Andres Vallejo, Colombia.
EEELS Level 6/7 Arieza Handayani, Bali; Ning Chang Ho, Taiwan; Soo Min Kang, South Korea; Myoung Oug Kang, South Korea; Doek Nam Kim, South Korea; Mohammed Kumara, Sierra Leone; Kyungae Lee, South Korea; Songyong Lee, South Korea; Feng Liu, China; Matilde Longaphee, Peru; Yumi MacLeod, Japan; Do Je Oh, South Korea; Jin Yan Qi, China; Li Ren, China; Samuel Sanchez, Colombia; Youngsook Song, South Korea; Abdul Jabar Temor, Afghanistan; Karima Temor, Afghanistan; Yunzhan Wang, China.
EEELS Level 8 Mariam Bakhshendah, Afghanistan; Kyung S. Lee, South Korea; Myung W. Lee, South Korea.
ESL Imad Abla, Lebanon; Francisco Bobadilla, Chile; Lynette Brunelle, Quebec; Yoonsun Choi, South Korea; Uschi Garthe, Switzerland; Carlos Guerrero, Spain; Xiao Yan Huang, China; Mayumi Imai, Japan; Hee Jin Jeon, Japan; Soomin Kang, South Korea; Natalia Kudashkina, Russia; Mi Ok Lee, South Korea; Carlos P. Sarto, Chile; Youngsook Song, South Korea; Pamela Siu, El Salvador; Ayako Takahashui, Japan; Maria Vital, Brazil; Zhao Yiro, China; Chun O. Yoon, China; Jin Rong Zhu, China; Li Ren, China.
For more information about this release, please contact: Sara Underwood, Media and Communications Officer Tel: 902-566-9695
Date: Wednesday, June 28, 2006
