Education Is The Great Equalizer: Pakistan Native Moves To U.S., Graduates With H.S. Diploma

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When Zunera Mahboob first immigrated from Pakistan to the U.S. in 2019, she came in search of the American dream. But without a high school diploma – she worried she wouldn’t be able to achieve her goals.
October 12, 2021
Inclusive Futures
Future of Skills

When Zunera Mahboob first immigrated from Pakistan to the U.S. in 2019, she came in search of the American dream.

The Pakistan native was raised to respect the value of education, but unfortunately, she did not have a high school diploma – and she worried that her lack of a diploma might hinder her job search.

Fast forward to September 2020, and Zunera started an assignment with Adecco at a client site at an almond processing plant located in Modesto, California. During her Adecco onboarding, she was excited to learn about the Aspire Academy, which allows workers to access free education and training in hopes of closing the skills gap and creating greater economic opportunity. The Academy, funded by the Adecco Group US Foundation, hopes to make the future work for everyone.

Zunera jumped at the opportunity to receive her high school diploma and immediately excelled in her classes. Just months into the program, she had a 4.0 GPA and had already completed 54 of the 104 lessons in the program, far ahead of the average completion rate for the program.

When the Adecco Group US Foundation found out about Zunera’s dedication to her education, and her dedication to creating better economic activities for herself and her family, the foundation honored her achievements by funding the remaining tuition cost for her diploma ($640). The high school diploma program is the only self-pay program at the Aspire Academy, but whenever a student expresses the need for financial support, the Foundation will step in and cover their burden.

Zunera graduated from the course in August 2021, completing the course in just under 10 months with a 3.86 GPA. The student did that by pacing at 10.5 exams per month! She’s the second high school scholarship student to reach such a profound milestone.

It’s the Adecco Group US Foundation’s mission to leverage individual and group expertise and resources to help drive social value creation in the employment and skills fields. We help people find their path through programs that contribute to economic mobility, career progression and work equality. Zunera is just one of many success stories for the Adecco Group US Foundation.

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