Moving on up

Wilson Creek man works and learns to support family

MOSES LAKE - Oscar Garay is a welding student at Big Bend Community College.

Garay, 33, Wilson Creek, is much more than a student. He works full time doing construction with OK Manufacturing and is a full-time father to five children ranging from ages three months old to 18 years old.

"I want to become a welder. I want to make more money," he said laughing. "I want to be a good example to my kids. When they grow up they can go to (college) too."

Garay said he works 40 to 50 hours per week at his construction job and devotes close to 15 hours per week to class. He didn't count the amount of time devoted to reading the textbooks and doing homework or the time commuting from Wilson Creek to Moses Lake for school and work.

"I don't have that much time," he laughed.

When talking with Garay it's hard to realize English is a newly learned language for him because of his sharp fluency. His native language is Spanish.

He began the college courses close to two years ago along with his citizenship classes. The welding program is integrated with teaching adult basic skills and English as a second language.

"I think I can communicate," Garay said. "I couldn't speak very well at all before."

The program, Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training, (IBEST) allows people to earn a higher education while improving their basic skills which might prevent them from gaining a degree, Big Bend Community College Director of Basic Skills Sandy Cheek said. The program helps to educate the current work force.

She said the program is designed to help people similar to Garay who possess a strong work ethic and a desire to learn but also have a full-time job with families to support.

"It's people like Oscar who are the work force," Cheek said.

She said the program is designed to help people gain both professional vocational skills and basic skills without forcing them to quit their jobs. She said the programs are completed in phases. Each phase allows for the student to earn a certification and stop the program for a while if they must for their own personal needs allowing them to start the programs again at their own convenience.

Garay said his employer is supportive of him attending the college courses. He attends classes from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. two weeknights per week and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays. He said his employer allows him to leave work early on the two weekdays to make it to class on time.

"All these programs help a lot," Garay said. "It opens so many doors to you. Before I came here, I was worried about places I was going to work."

Garay thought he was going to be forced to work minimum wage jobs for the rest of his life and decided he didn't want to let that happen. Now he hopes to work for a well-known welding business possibly as a supervisor.

Teaching the college courses is a team effort.

Big Bend Community College Certified Welding Educator Shawn McDaniel said he teaches the technical side of the class giving the students hands-on learning with welding material. He helps them apply what they learn. His biggest concern while teaching the course is focused on safety.

"If you get hurt, you can't work," McDaniel said.

He said his favorite part of teaching the course is watching the students succeed and learn a skill useful to take care of themselves and their families.

Big Bend Community College IBEST Instructor Sharon Cox focuses on the adult basic education skills and teaching English as a second language.

"I teach the same text, the same stuff that a regular welding instructor would do, but I do it with the adult basic education (emphasis)," she said.

Cox teaches the students how to read the textbooks, how to study for exams and how to use the information they are learning. She said teaching the basic skills is important because a lot of the students didn't graduate high school and read at an eighth-grade level. Cox helps them to learn at a college level.

English eventually develops as a second language for many of the students because they are becoming familiar with something they understand, such as welding, she said. The knowledge they gain filtrates to all aspects of their lives.

Cox said her favorite part about teaching the classes is the smiles and the thank yous she receives because the students are succeeding.

Many of the students who are part of the IBEST program receive assistance from an opportunity grant, a state funded program provided to community colleges, Director of Workforce Jackie Johnston said.

"We continue to find new ways to meet the needs of our work force such as Oscar," she said. "He has the desire and determination. It begins with adult literacy."

The grant can be used for people in situations similar to Garay's who want to gain basic skills as well as vocational skills, Johnston said.

The opportunity grant was first utilized by the college for the 2006-2007 school year. Nearly $400,000 was given to the college by the state Legislature for financial assistance for students, she said. Approximately 76 students used the grant. The same amount of funds was allocated to the college for the 2007/2008 school year.

Last year the IBEST program was nominated for a national award, Cheek said at an Othello Council meeting last week. She said the program is growing in success.

The City of Othello declared last week the Adult Literacy Week.

For more information on the programs offered through IBEST, contact Cheek at 509-793-2305.