The Maudie’s restaurants are some of the coolest places in town and one thing’s for sure, this awesome team of students and their supervisors brought a new level of cool to E@W during the six months they studied with us. Fifteen of Maudie’s hardworking and fun-loving employees graduated from the program on a hot and windy Texas afternoon last week. It was the perfect occasion to sit down with our students (and some of Maudie’s famous salsa!) and reflect on all the reasons we loved working with everyone at Maudie’s Tex-Mex. Here’s what we came up with:
- These guys were our first students to start their own class Facebook group.
- They know how to have a good time – and invited us to their kids’ birthday parties!
- We got to dance to Grupo Fantasma at their Christmas party.
- Our students who work at the bar encouraged us to celebrate National Margarita Day – and we were happy to oblige.
- They put up with the E@W paparazzi and made it on to our X-mas Greeting!
And that doesn’t even touch on the great work these students did in class. Tanlyn, E@W’s amazing Literacy*Americorps volunteer and our teacher in the Maudie’s class, shares her thoughts on leading this great group of students through the E@W experience:
It was a real pleasure teaching this particular group of students. They all were highly motivated and had the greatest attitude both toward work and to learning English. This was my first class to teach at E@W so naturally I was a little nervous at first. But as soon as I had spent one or two days with the guys, I felt right at home. Whether we practiced a dialogue or worked on pronunciation, the Maudie’s students always had something to add that got everyone laughing. We wish them all the best!
A big thank you goes out to Maudie’s Hacienda for hosting the graduation fiesta, to the GM’s and support staff for their endless encouragement, and here’s an even bigger thank you for our most recent grads – it was truly an honor to teach, laugh, and learn with you. Congratulations!
Spoiler Alert: Keep your eyes peeled for news on two Maudie’s students whose leadership is making a big impact at the restaurants. Juvenal, we’re so proud of you for stepping up to train new Maudie’s employees – in English! And Orlando, we can’t wait to come visit you at the bar so we can toast your 10-year journey from bar back to bartender. Way to go, guys!
More photos from graduation!
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