By her determination, Huai (Jenny) Jiang has overcome all obstacles to attain her goal to be a licensed practical nurse (LPN). When she enrolled in the Fayette County adult basic education (ABE) program she rode her bicycle over a mile through the wintry weather to attend. Literally studying day and night, Jenny passed the GED® Tests on the first try, passed her driver’s license test and bought a car, passed the TOEFL (Tests of English as a Foreign Language), and then passed the LPN entrance exam in a few short months.
In the spring of 2010, Jenny was admitted into the Fayette County Institute of Technology LPN program, where she immediately began to doubt if she could be successful in the program due to the language barrier. Not to be deterred, she just buckled down and read each LPN textbook cover to cover, translating the texts into Chinese.
In March of 2011, Jenny graduated as salutatorian of her class and began studying 3,000 review questions, plus an additional 1,000 on-line questions. She did extraordinarily well on the Board exam, and has recently been hired as an LPN at a local nursing home.
Not satisfied with these accomplishments, her greatest goal was to become a citizen of the United States. She passed the oral exam, and was granted citizenship in October 2011.
For adjusting to life in this country and a new language, achieving all her goals, and for being such an inspiration to ABE and LPN instructors and students, Jenny Jiang has earned the 2011 Adult Student of the Year Award.
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