Learner Spotlight: Aruna

We invite you to meet Aruna, our featured student this month in our “Learner Spotlight”.  Featured adult learners represent the Literacy Council’s programs, including authors from Reflections: Voices of English Learners, the Literacy Council’s literary magazine, as well as adult learners in other programs. Aruna contributed her story to the eighth edition.

My name is Aruna K. I come from Narasaraopet, India. I have been living here in Frederick since 2019. I have had a wonderful experience with the Literacy Council. It is helping me learn English better. The Council provided very good teachers for me. One teacher is Erin R., who helped me apply for a special tutor. Her name is Sarah L. She is helping me speak and write English. They are very caring to me and help me improve. My hobbies are painting, reading, cooking, and traveling. My goal is to speak better and to get a job. I earned an MBA in India, and I would like to enroll in Frederick Community College.

We hope you enjoy Aruna’s written work, “How I Learned to Paint”. View all of our students’ stories on our Reflections: Voices of English Learners web page. Below is an excerpt of Aruna’s article.

“How I Learned to Paint”

When I was a child, my grandfather, Veera, was an architect. My grandfather knew a lot about painting. He made sculptures by carving wood and rock. He made very beautiful sculptures. He drew plans for the temple in the village. I got interested in art because of my grandfather. He taught me how to do artwork. When he carved the wood, then I would paint it. Day by day, I developed an interest in painting.

My dad observed that I had an interest in painting. He connected me to a painting teacher. She taught me how to paint on fabric. I was 18 years old when I learned. She gave me suggestions during the painting class. After that, I began a business in fabric paint. I was painting on fabric to sell them. I earned a lot of money in my country.

My family, my father, Purnachandrachari, and my mother, Dhanalakshmi, felt very proud to sell the paint art. I gave my father the money I earned. He said, “My daughter is earning money at 18 years old.” I learned multiple ways of painting such as hand painting, acrylic painting, water painting, glass painting, embossed painting, and sand painting. I learned hand painting with a brush and fabric.

Read the rest of Aruna’s story and more student stories in our 8th edition of Reflections.