Giorgia Balestri

GED Classes Launch Classroom Career

Giorgia Balestri moved to Skokie from Italy with her family in 2022. Active in the lives of her two daughters, ages 12 and 10, she discovered a passion for early childhood education and wanted to give back to the community by working in a local school. After starting in a daycare center, where she continued to improve her English language skills, she took the next step to earn her American high school diploma through Oakton’s free High School Equivalency preparation program.

“I wanted to help the community, the school, my neighbors, and get a job where my daughters were attending school. I realized I needed to refresh my math, science and English skills so I decided to get my GED. I took in-person GED prep courses at Oakton and after my English and math skills improved, I moved to hybrid classes—half online and half in person. I also started to attend English as a second language (ESL) classes.”

Encouragement along the way

“My journey was about one and a half years long, and I met so many teachers along the way. They were so nice to me. If I didn’t understand one thing, they would explain it and tell me “you can do it.” Sometimes it’s very hard to continue. I had to retake my language arts exam and they were so patient and encouraging, they said “No problem. Next time you can do it.”

Finding a career to give back

“Now I work as a paraprofessional in the school district where my daughters attend. I help the lead teacher, and I work with children with disabilities. We have six children from third grade to fifth grade, and I help the lead teacher with everything. I would love to continue my education. My hope is to get a green card and then apply to college at Oakton. I hope my daughters study because it is very important.”

A first step for international neighbors

“When people move here from another country, this program is so important. It provides opportunity. When you’re new to this country, you don’t know about the community or the people. But when you attend the classes, you can make new friends. I met people from Mexico, from Pakistan. We stay in touch. I reached out to one friend just the other day to see if she had taken her exam yet, and she had not yet, but I said “let’s do this together, I’ll help you.” I’d tell people who are on a journey like mine not to worry if it’s hard. Because it is hard work. When you have a family, or you feel older, and you’re busy and new to the community, it’s hard. But don’t listen to that voice. You can do it. Keep going—you will be proud of yourself.”