Alejandra Reyes relishes the idea of opening doors for the Latino community through education. “I feel and I hope that I’m giving them the tools to go out to the community and achieve their dreams and goals,” says Reyes, who is director of the Latino Learning Institute and runs the entire program.
The Institute, which is part of Comunidades Latinas Unidas en Servicio (CLUES), a large social service provider, offers classes to adult immigrants in English, citizenship, literacy, computer skills, and general equivalency degrees.
Reyes didn’t set out to be an educator. She earned a degree in mass communications in Mexico, then came to the University of Minnesota as an ESL student. She discovered her passion while volunteering at the nonprofit Neighborhood House teaching English to immigrants. So she went back to school and earned a master’s degree in teaching English as a Second Language.
Reyes also serves on the boards of Trinity Catholic School in St. Paul and El Colegio, a charter school in Minneapolis.
Reyes can’t wait to share her Mexican—and her husband’s Colombian—heritage with their first child, due this winter. As she does with her students, Reyes plans to teach her daughter to persevere through challenges and always remember her heritage. That way, she can give back to the community—just like her mother.
