The Noel Foundation Founder Noel Irwin Hentschel Honors First Graduates of the Foundation Sponsored Soledad Life Academy for Migrant Women Farm Workers

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Noel Foundation’s founder and president Noel Irwin Hentschel was on hand to honor the Soledad Life Academy at its very first commencement program when the new school, partially sponsored by Hentschel, awarded academic honors to seven students who had successfully completed the academy’s eight-week, tuition-free pilot program.

The school’s graduation certificates were awarded to the students during commencement ceremonies held this spring on the campus of the Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS) in Monterey, California.

The recently instituted Life Academy combined its graduation ceremonies with The Monterey Institute and the Soledad/Salinas based Center for Employment Training (CET). All three schools awarded academic certificates of achievement to the students of their respective graduating classes.

Hentschel, who is also CEO/Chair/Founder of America’s largest inbound/outbound tourism company, AmericanTours International, revealed that the Life Academy was created specifically to help women farm workers – granting priorities to those who reside in remote labor housing units throughout Soledad and Monterey County.

When students were asked what they learned during the eight-week instruction period, the enthusiastic graduates made such comments as "I learned a lot of words and how to write in English"; "I learned to use the computer"; "I learned about other cultures"; "Coming to this class has made me realize I'm stronger than I thought and that I can do things for other people"; and "I feel good about myself now because our teachers have taught me a lot." At the event's conclusion, all the students warmly thanked their teachers for the gift of learning English and making their life in the American workplace so much easier.

"Everyone has a special talent and the opportunity to do something worthwhile," said Hentschel. "Mine is that I was able to open this wonderful school. It is gratifying to see how eager the students are to learn. The world now becomes more accessible to these remarkable hard working women.”

The Soledad academy is supervised by The Noel Foundation Executive Director Dr. Anna Vassilieva, Ph.D, an author who was born and raised in Eastern Siberia, Russia and since 1990 has been a professor of Russian Studies at the Monterey Institute. “The academy's goal is to reach-out to women to help them achieve self-sufficiency through education, human development and occupational skill training,” said Dr. Vassilieva.

Dr. Vassilieva declared that she and The Noel Foundation believe there is nothing more valuable to give to women than educational skills and the sense of a caring, engaged community. "It is our joy and privilege," she emphasized, "to inspire and sponsor the efforts of migrant women, graduate students and service providers and do everything we can to empower women here in California."

Under the auspices of The Noel Foundation, MIIS and CET, the graduation event marked the beginning of what the three institutions hope will be a continuing source of academic learning for migrant workers in the Soledad, Salinas and Monterey areas. The mission of each school is to bring native, Spanish speaking women in Northern California together for the purpose of their acquiring beneficial English language skills enabling them to work well and advance within the American employment system.

With a total of ten volunteer student teachers provided by the Monterey Institute from its TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) program, the classes began in Monterey and quickly expanded to CET's Salinas and Soledad locations.

With the successful completion of the pilot program, The Noel Foundation and the Monterey Institute are now planning a new fall course tentatively beginning in September.

In addition to being CEO/Chair/Founder of America's largest inbound/outbound tourism and marketing organization, AmericanTours International (ATI), Hentschel is also travel advisor to the US Dept. of Commerce. ATI generates $3 billion into the US economy annually. Based in Los Angeles, ATI has 12 regional offices including branches in New York, Washington DC, San Francisco, Orlando, Honolulu and Beijing, China.