Spotlight highlights students and teachers at CLUES and their special personalities and talents.
This is a platform for students and teachers to be recognized and to share their creative expression.
Spotlight of the Month
Iris Mendez
We want to spotlight CLUES’ GED and English Level 3 student Iris Mendez, who has shown an immense amount of dedication to her studies. Please enjoy a written interview with Iris!
Hi Iris!
Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions and to talk about yourself a bit. We really appreciate your dedication to learning and your positive, interactive personality in class. (Mark, CLUES' Adult Education Programs Coordinator)
Mark: Firstly, how did you first hear about CLUES?
Iris: Hi!
Thanks for giving me the space and the opportunity to express myself.
I was searching for English classes online and remembered that a friend had told me about CLUES; I went on the website and saw that they had different classes and programs.
Summer classes had already started, so I decided to wait to register for the fall.
How has your experience been so far with CLUES’ classes?
Honestly, it has been great.
The classes are flexible and convenient.
I know you’ve taken a few GED courses with us. What’s your favorite subject?
Yes! I took Language Arts and right now I’m taking Science.
When I first came to the U.S I only knew a few words and phrases in English, so it was hard to understand must of the subjects, but Math was easy because it was numbers, and it became my favorite.
What’s been the biggest challenge?
I have always been close to my family and moving away from them and not being able to see them or having them near in difficult times has been the biggest challenge so far.
Where are you from originally from and how long have you been in Minnesota?
I’m originally from Michoacan, Mexico.
I came to the U.S. when I was 13 years old and was living between Mexico and Atlanta for about 11 years before moving to Minnesota in 2020.
What is something you miss about your hometown?
My family. My parents and siblings live in Atlanta and the rest of my family is in Mexico.
I miss when we would all get together on Sundays and everyone would bring something to eat.
What is something you love about Minnesota?
I love that there are a lot of lakes and parks everywhere and that is safe to go out for a walk even when it’s dark. We don’t have that in Atlanta or Mexico.
What do you do for fun?
I crochet. I learned to crochet when I was studying to become a teacher assistant many years ago.
In ten years, where would you like to be living?
I would still like to live here in Minnesota. I like the city where I live right now.
What are your goals for the future?
Getting my GED and continuing my education.
Is there anything else you’d like to say?
I want to thank CLUES for their help and for giving me the opportunity to continue learning English. I also want to thank the teachers, especially Maggie, Sibyla and Gary for being patient and always encouraging us to practice and to not be afraid to do it, and to Mark for always answering our questions and helping us giving resources to continue studying and improving.
Thank you, Iris!
Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions and to talk about yourself a bit. We really appreciate your dedication to learning and your positive, interactive personality in class. (Mark, CLUES' Adult Education Programs Coordinator)
Mark: Firstly, how did you first hear about CLUES?
Iris: Hi!
Thanks for giving me the space and the opportunity to express myself.
I was searching for English classes online and remembered that a friend had told me about CLUES; I went on the website and saw that they had different classes and programs.
Summer classes had already started, so I decided to wait to register for the fall.
How has your experience been so far with CLUES’ classes?
Honestly, it has been great.
The classes are flexible and convenient.
I know you’ve taken a few GED courses with us. What’s your favorite subject?
Yes! I took Language Arts and right now I’m taking Science.
When I first came to the U.S I only knew a few words and phrases in English, so it was hard to understand must of the subjects, but Math was easy because it was numbers, and it became my favorite.
What’s been the biggest challenge?
I have always been close to my family and moving away from them and not being able to see them or having them near in difficult times has been the biggest challenge so far.
Where are you from originally from and how long have you been in Minnesota?
I’m originally from Michoacan, Mexico.
I came to the U.S. when I was 13 years old and was living between Mexico and Atlanta for about 11 years before moving to Minnesota in 2020.
What is something you miss about your hometown?
My family. My parents and siblings live in Atlanta and the rest of my family is in Mexico.
I miss when we would all get together on Sundays and everyone would bring something to eat.
What is something you love about Minnesota?
I love that there are a lot of lakes and parks everywhere and that is safe to go out for a walk even when it’s dark. We don’t have that in Atlanta or Mexico.
What do you do for fun?
I crochet. I learned to crochet when I was studying to become a teacher assistant many years ago.
In ten years, where would you like to be living?
I would still like to live here in Minnesota. I like the city where I live right now.
What are your goals for the future?
Getting my GED and continuing my education.
Is there anything else you’d like to say?
I want to thank CLUES for their help and for giving me the opportunity to continue learning English. I also want to thank the teachers, especially Maggie, Sibyla and Gary for being patient and always encouraging us to practice and to not be afraid to do it, and to Mark for always answering our questions and helping us giving resources to continue studying and improving.
Thank you, Iris!