Asylum seeker’s teaching hopes boosted by course

An asylum seeker said her dream of becoming a teacher has been given a boost after enrolling on a bridging course.

Cenia Elizabeth Muñoz, who fled El Salvador after threats from gangs in 2020, has completed a 12-week programme at the University of Chichester.

The scheme, titled From Adversity to University, aims to help students without necessary qualifications to learn new skills and bridge the gap to higher education.

Ms Muñoz said her initial expectations had been simply to learn the English language.

“My ambitions at that time were limited only to getting a survival job, where I had no opportunities for growth but only to survive,” she said.

She says she now hopes to attend university and begin a career working with children.

“My ambitions have changed completely,” she said. “It has made me believe in myself and prove that I can achieve everything I set my mind to.”

Ms Muñoz and her husband Angel arrived in the UK shortly before the Covid-19 pandemic. She fell pregnant, and the couple settled in Bognor Regis.

Sanctuary in Chichester (SiC), a group that supports refugees and asylum seekers to build new lives, pitched the bridging course after hearing about Cenia’s career goals.

A SiC spokeswoman said it had sponsored 10 students to complete the course in recent years.

University of Chichester senior lecturer Becky Edwards said Ms Muñoz's story was one of “courage, resilience and determination”.

“Teaching on the bridging course and learning from students like Cenia fills me with hope and pride,” she said.

“It is proof of the transformational power of education and a constant reminder that, with the right opportunities, all things are possible in life.”

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