Adult learner named state's outstanding student of the year

Sookie Borsos, one of the 13 adult students enrolled in the Reading Improvement Program at the University, returned from the 10th annual Delaware Adult Student Conference and Student Awards Event in February with the award for Outstanding Adult Student Learner of the Year.

A custodian in the Gilbert C Residence Hall, Borsos moved to the United States from Korea in 1989 with her husband, Louis Borsos, a technician in UD's Network and Systems Services.

Borsos' daily life has changed dramatically since moving to the United States. While living in Korea, she was employed by a plastics company for 15 years. Her last position at the company was managing their accounting department.

According to Borsos, when she moved to Newark she discovered she could take classes at the English Language Institute since her husband was then a member of the ROTC program at the University. Her ELI teacher told her class that being able to speak English and hard work could eventually lead to a better job and higher pay.

Borsos said, "I always remember those words."

Borsos said she enjoys her job, especially being around American students because they help improve her English speaking skills.

She said she found out about the Reading Improvement Program, which focuses on literary education, through her supervisor six years ago and has been taking classes ever since. Cynthia Shermeyer, the program coordinator, has been Borsos' teacher for five years.

The Reading Improvement Program gives University employees, including skilled trades and salaried and custodial service employees, a chance to improve their reading, writing and spelling skills. The sessions meet twice a week, from September to May. The free program is sponsored by the Office of Human Resources.

"Adult English language learners have many huge hurdles to conquer," Shermeyer said. "They are separated from family, culture, all the things that are familiar. They are thrown into a totally new situation where they do not even know the language to survive."

Borsos told her Korean colleagues at UD about the program and encouraged them to start taking classes. Several have taken her advice, and she said she can notice that their English skills have improved.

"I am very proud to come to these classes, and I tell everyone," she said. "Sometimes I used to be sad because I spoke incorrectly or didn't understand a word. People laughed at me, but what could I do?"

Borsos said attending the classes has helped her in many aspects of her life, including understanding people over the telephone better and being able to do certain things independently.

When she won the Adult Student Learner of the Year award, she said her family was very proud of her.

"I am very proud of Sookie," Shermeyer said. "I nominated her because I feel she is a role model for other adult students. Sookie perseveres through learning English, which is no easy task. She always has a question for me about a word spelling or meaning. She encourages other students."

STACEY SZLUKA