When Lorena Hernández Leonard moved to the United States from Colombia as a child, one of the many challenges she faced was education. As a non-English speaker, school was often harder for her than for other students. Over many years, Lorena’s persistence paid off, as she graduated from UMass – Amherst and later earned a master’s in communications and marketing at Emerson College. Today she’s an accomplished bilingual writer, editor, and storyteller.

Maria Arrendo felt the same drive as her daughter, Lorena. In the early 1990s, after moving from Colombia, Maria enrolled in a healthcare certificate program designed for English learners at Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC). For Maria, it opened up a meaningful career in healthcare that would last more than 30 years.

It’s a happy coincidence that all these years later, Lorena would co-facilitate a storytelling training for student leaders at her mother’s alma mater.

The purpose of the ‘Power of Your Story’ program was to show students how storytelling contributes to education and career advancement. As Stellar instructors like to say, your resume or application may get you an interview, but it is the quality of your stories that can lead to a college acceptance, internship, or job.

Paul Moda, director of the BHCC student leadership office, routinely encourages students not to underestimate the power of their stories.

“Every day, our students balance more challenges in and outside of school than many college students,” says Moda. “I appreciate that Stellar shares our perspective that their experiences can translate into incredible stories of resilience and talent.”

As an immigrant and woman of color, Lorena was pleased to find that the program resonated. That makes sense because so many of these students share backgrounds and identities with Stellar’s instructors. “I really cherished the presenters’ stories,” one student noted in a post-program evaluation. “And the way they connected with my personal life.”

Lorena and her colleagues will return to BHCC in March to deliver an advanced training.

“It took me a long time to believe my voice and stories were worthy,” recalls Lorena. “However, when I started to share them, I discovered a new confidence and purpose. At Stellar, we want to help students experience a similar transformation.”