On Friday, April 26, students and faculty at Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) gathered to celebrate the release of the “Sharing Our World” book. The book contains stories from over 200 MATC students from the English as a Second Language (ESL) program, and focuses on the personal journeys of these students through poetry, essays, and more.
Erin Helland, an ESL instructor at MATC, spoke about her students’ reactions to having their work published in the book. “I think students feel a very strong sense of pride like wow, my work is published, look at this,” she said. “Not only that, I can read my story in English, in front of people.”
The fifth edition of “Sharing Our World” was developed by MATC’s community education pathway over the past five years. It features writing from forty-seven countries represented by its student population. This event serves as a celebration not only for these students’ achievements but also for their resilience and determination to overcome language barriers and share their stories with others.