On Monday and Wednesday nights, classrooms at Sacred Heart Center in Richmond are filled with adult Latino students enrolled in GED prep classes.
Luis Fernando Merlos is one of those students.
“Being a Hispanic immigrant, a child, a teenager moving from your homeland to a new city — it's really tough,” he said.
In 2014, Merlos immigrated to Richmond from El Salvador at 16 and enrolled at Huguenot High School.
“It was quite an experience to get to a new school not speaking any English at all,” Merlos said. “When you get to talk to your classmates, your teachers, there's a big barrier. A big gap between you and the others, and you don’t feel connected to them.”
Merlos’ initial inability to connect — the language barrier — exacerbated problems in class. He ultimately made the decision to drop out and started working in construction.
“I was running for my dreams. You know, my country was really bad at the time,” Merlos said of the violence and lack of opportunities in El Salvador. “It's been improved, but I was looking for progress, to make it into a better life and have some higher education.”
Ten years later, he is on his way to earning his GED certificate through programs at Sacred Heart Center.
The organization has positioned itself into a central hub for Richmond’s Latino community and offers programs ranging from GED classes to citizenship and leadership training.
The center’s also one of the few groups in the area that’s offered the GED program in Spanish during the past decade. Richmond’s Hispanic population grew from 6.2% in 2010 to 8.3% in 2022, according to an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.
Tanya Gonzalez, Sacred Heart’s executive director, said the center works to hire bilingual and bicultural staff, and offers free transportation and childcare options to limit barriers to prospective students. Classes are also offered in the morning and evening to allow for students to plan around their work schedules.
“We offer the four subject areas, and the state of Virginia does offer the test in Spanish,” she said. “So, for people, they're able to prepare themselves to take that test in their native language and then hopefully with the ultimate goal of passing their four subject matter tests, and acquiring their GED to then move on to their other goals.”
Gonzalez said that obtaining a GED isn’t easy. On average, the program takes 1–2 years to complete — or longer.
“They may be working and taking care of families. Just navigating life as an adult and then coming to study — twice a week, three hours each time — that's a big commitment,” Gonzalez said.
Currently, 54 students are enrolled in the program’s fall session. Gonzalez told VPM News that approximately 1,000 students have studied for their GED certificates at the center.
Marisol Serrano de Gutierrez went through Sacred Heart’s GED classes and now supports the center’s education programming.
“When we as adults begin an educational journey, it’s not just a journey for ourselves,” Serrano de Gutierrez said in Spanish. “But we are a model to follow for younger generations, for those Latino kids who are raised in this world. So, we show them we can advance.”
She said the center helped her adapt to living in the U.S. after immigrating from El Salvador, where she was a lawyer.
“When I found out the GED program was in Spanish, it was a surprise for me, because I thought it would be in English,” she said. “So, I was able to understand and learn the material faster.”
Learning in Spanish, Serrano de Gutierrez said, has the power to transform the community.
Merlos agrees.
“I have learned that I am capable of doing anything that I want to, as long as I put enough effort and consistency to it that I can reach my goals through the program,” Merlos said, who is considering becoming an architect, so he can lead construction projects. "And you know, with the help of the amazing people out here, I can make it.”