FOLC-sponsored scholarships are helping Learning Center staff strengthen their skills, advance professionally, and bring new knowledge directly back to the students and organization they serve.

When we talk about scholarships at The Oaxaca Learning Center, we often focus on the young people receiving support to remain in school.

But students are not the only members of the Learning Center community whose education matters.

Over the past 18 months, Friends of the Oaxaca Learning Center has also sponsored professional-development scholarships for staff members pursuing advanced degrees, professional diplomas, and specialized certifications.

These opportunities recognize a simple but powerful truth: when the people teaching, advising, and supporting students have opportunities to grow, the entire organization becomes stronger.

Turning new knowledge into stronger programs

Learning Center staff members do not pursue additional education in isolation from their work. They bring new ideas, skills, and confidence directly back to the organization.

Their studies are helping improve areas including:

English-language instruction and curriculum development
Administrative planning and organizational leadership
Financial and institutional processes
Educational technology and digital assessment
Staff guidance, training, and collaboration

The result is a ripple effect. One scholarship may support one staff member, but the knowledge gained can improve the experiences of colleagues and many students over time.

Laura: Strengthening institutional knowledge

“Every achievement and every step in my professional growth is also thanks to you.”

Laura is pursuing a master’s degree in taxation. Her studies have expanded her professional perspective and provided new tools that she applies to the projects and processes she coordinates at the Learning Center.

She explained that the experience has given her greater certainty and confidence as she works to optimize processes and strengthen the quality of the organization’s work.

For Laura, receiving a scholarship also carried special personal meaning. After years of helping distribute scholarships to others, she never imagined becoming a scholarship recipient herself.

Her academic record reflects the commitment she has brought to the opportunity, with a strong overall average across her completed coursework.

Gerardo: Applying leadership lessons every day

“This experience marked a milestone in my career and motivates me to keep preparing myself to contribute even more each day to my institution, my team, and the community we serve.”

Gerardo completed a Graduate Diploma in Senior Business Management, strengthening his knowledge of leadership, strategy, resource management, financial planning, human talent, innovation, and organizational responsibility.

In his role as Administrative Coordinator, he is already applying those lessons.

Gerardo reports that he has streamlined internal processes, improved response times, strengthened daily planning, and established more efficient ways for the team to work together. His studies also helped him develop a broader strategic view of how administration and responsible leadership contribute to the Learning Center’s mission.

Gerardo completed the six-module, 96-hour diploma with an overall average of 9 out of 10.

Juan: Improving English teaching across the program

“The knowledge I acquired has an impact that extends far beyond the classroom.”

Juan received scholarship support for the Teaching Knowledge Test, a professional certification focused on English-language teaching.

The training strengthened his knowledge of lesson planning, activity selection, assessment, teaching methodology, and student-centered learning. As the Learning Center’s English coordinator, Juan’s new skills benefit far more than his own professional development.

He is using what he learned to guide other English advisors, support curriculum development, improve course planning, and encourage more effective teaching practices throughout the program.

Juan believes the experience will continue to strengthen both his own work and the development of the students and teachers he supports each day.

Karen: Using technology to create more engaging learning experiences

Karen pursued training focused on educational technology, gamification, planning, and evaluation.
The program changed the way she views technology. Rather than seeing it as a potential distraction or threat, she now understands how it can be used to create engaging, accessible, and responsive educational experiences.
She is applying this learning by digitizing assessment processes, analyzing results, and designing materials that better connect with students and contemporary audiences.

The training has also helped her think more intentionally about empathy in planning and evaluation—creating materials that reflect the needs and profiles of the people participating.

Karen described the experience as a profound transformation in her confidence and in the way she creates, works, and sees the world.

An investment that reaches every student

Professional development can be difficult to access, especially for people balancing full-time responsibilities and service to their communities. Scholarships remove some of those barriers and give dedicated staff members the opportunity to continue learning.

The benefits do not end when a degree, diploma, or certification is completed.

They appear in better-planned courses. More effective systems. Stronger guidance for teachers. Improved educational materials. Greater confidence in leadership and decision-making.

Most importantly, they appear in the quality of support students receive.

FOLC’s investment in Learning Center staff is an investment in the institution’s long-term strength—and in every young person who walks through its doors.

Investing in the People Who Make Student Success Possible