ESL Teacher Spotlight
Meet Eliud Alcala
Eliud Alcala teaches ESL at the Settlement Association, and also substitutes for the citizenship classes. Outside of The Gables, Eliud works as a Business Engagement Professional at MASSHIRE, empowering the community by helping people find and follow through with employment opportunities. In this capacity with the Department of Labor he engages with employers and provides no-cost services on behalf of the state government to bring jobs to the community. The program helps job seekers prepare for interviews and meet employers’ needs.
When asked what he likes most about teaching at the Settlement Association, Eliud says, “I have had the time of my life substituting at the citizenship class as well as teaching the ESL class. Not only do I get to meet wonderful people in our communities, I am grateful for the opportunity to share my culture as an American-born man of Hispanic descent with the beautiful people I truly admire!” Of the participants, he says, “I admire our program participants because… their main reason is to progress in our nation of opportunities.” Eliud says that by choosing to take these classes, participants’ families and local communities also benefit from their experiences.
Eliud serves on the boards of various community-based organizations on the North Shore. He chairs the Neighbor-to-Neighbor Massachusetts board, a social justice organization providing community-based services in Springfield, Holyoke, Worcester, and Lynn. He says “I am most proud of our ability to train, endorse, and build political campaigns for candidates who form part of the new majority in our communities – people of color, women, immigrants, and working-class people.”
When not busy teaching and working with his various organizations, Eliud enjoys officiating wedding ceremonies. He has been a Justice of the Peace for many years and has had the pleasure of officiating many weddings, including many bilingual ceremonies. Eliud is a proud uncle of four beautiful nieces and one nephew and has toured colleges with them. He is soon to be a grampy as one of his nieces is expecting and is due in November. He is really looking forward to spoiling the baby!