Hi, my name is Angiebel Ruiz Lanzot. I’m from Puerto Rico. I’m 15 years old. I have been living here for two years. I live in Dorchester, Massachusetts. I live with my mother, my sister, and my brother. I study in East Boston High School.

I have been visiting ASPIRA for almost two years. I go to Aspira because there I can meet different people. Also because there are volunteers that help me with my homework. In Aspira I take cooking classes. I go to ASPIRA because the staff members are friendly and when I talk with them I can meet with them and also learn English.

Francilot's Story

My name is Francilot Mendez. I am from the Dominican Republic. I have been living 3 years here in East Boston. I am a junior at East Boston High School. At first I attended the Umana Barnes Middle School, for the 8th grade. I entered there in the middle of February 2005. Then I started to attend “Eastie”. I have had Honor Roll and I got perfect Attendance. For my career I want to study Mid-wife Nurse because I like to deal with babies and also give the attention that a pregnant woman deserves. I really think that I can do this because I have obtained information from ASPIRA about my career and I know that I will be good at it.

ASPIRA is a youth center that provides help to high school students. I found out about Aspira because my brother was in high school while I was in the Umana and he visited Aspira. Since then he told me that when I got to high school I could go there to get help with my homework and get internet access when I needed it. Also they have English Classes and a lot more classes that I can take and will help me throughout my high school years. Since I got to 9th grade I started to come to Aspira and it became like a routine for me. I was very interested in learning English because I had recently come to the U.S. and I needed the language skills to achieve my dreams in this country and in my career which is the most important thing for me.