Dafne Pfeifer came to the United States from Chile by herself at the age of 20 to learn English. She started out in St. Louis, but because of the large Spanish-speaking community there, she was not progressing in learning English as she had hoped.

She met a family from Chile that lived in Springfield, visited a few times and decided to move. Once in Springfield, she started working as a cashier at Panda Express and was eventually promoted to general manager and trainer. Pfeifer worked during the day and took English language learning classes at night.

"I met amazing people at LLCC," she says. "You see all ages at the college. It's a welcoming and nice place to be."

For the past four years, Pfeifer has been working at Illinois Healthcare and Family Services. This fall, she came back to LLCC to begin earning a degree in human services.

She offers encouragement for others. "If you really want it, you can do it. Keep coming back. LLCC has everything you need. All the resources are here," Pfeifer says.

"LLCC not only gave me the opportunity to succeed, but aso friends and family. I met my best friend and maid of honor in my English class. She's from Saudi Arabia. Neither of us had family here, but we have been family to each other ever since. Teachers start as teachers, but also become family."