Yelgy
ParadaYelgy Parada's success story is one we are proud
to share. Yelgy, a native of EI Salvador, came to California in 1985.
Although she had earned an education in her own country, she had to start
all over again in this country. And so she began her education at LACC.
Her first goal was to learn English. She then took classes in the Office
Administration Department where she earned a Computer Applications
Specialist Certificate, which opened many doors to her.
With her new skills mastered, she quickly found employment as a student
worker on campus. In 1989 Yelgy earned an A.A. degree in liberal arts and
became a full-time employee in the Disabled Student Programs and Services
at City College. She continued her formal education, her classified
career, and raised two young children. She earned a B.A. in 1991 and
an M.A. in 1994 in Spanish from California State University, Los Angeles.
In 1995, Yelgy started a part-time position in the Foreign Languages
and Humanities Department. In 1996 she decided to concentrate fully on
teaching, resigned her classified position, and began teaching part time.
In June 2000, she joined to the Foreign Languages and Humanities
Department as a full-time instructor. She has come full circle at LACC by
starting out as a student, a support staff employee, a part-time
instructor, and now a full-time professor. Yelgy says that the key to her
successful journey was the support and encouragement of her family,
teachers, friends, and co-workers at Los Angeles City College.
