When Dilcia Zelaya moved from a small town in Honduras to Sterling, she did not speak a word of English.
"I would just smile and do my best to understand what was going on around me," she said. "I was very lonely."
Now, the Park View High School senior speaks English fluently. She studies hard and gets good grades.
Zelaya said her mother moved to the United States for a better life for her.
"I can’t let her down," she said.
For five years, Zelaya worked hard to study English and keep up with her other courses. All of the hard work paid off.
On Thursday, June 21, Zelaya will walk across George Mason University’s auditorium stage to receive her hard-earned diploma. She plans to study nursing at Northern Virginia Community College in Sterling in the fall.
WHEN THE PARK View student cleaned out her locker last week, she said she started to cry.
"This is like a second home to me," Zelaya said. "I don’t want to leave."
For Zelaya, Park View High School is place where she feels safe.
"The teachers, the faculty, they made it that way for me," she said. "They are always there to listen to me and calm me down."
The 18-year-old said the teachers and faculty members at the Sterling school always made her feel at home and pushed her to pursue her dreams.
Zelaya spends her afternoons and weekends waiting on tables at Falcon’s Landing, a retirement community, in Sterling.
"I like to work with older people," she said. "I like to smile at them and make them feel good."
Leona DuCharm is a resident at Falcon’s Landing.
When the high-school senior placed a plate of food in front of DuCharm, the resident’s face lit up.
"Her smile always brightens up my day," DuCharm said. "She’s a lovely girl."
Zelaya’s boss, Esmerelda Bonilla, said the teenager possesses a special quality.
"The seniors love her," Bonilla said. "She doesn’t have to say anything. They just warm right up to her."
Bonilla said Zelaya is not only a hard worker, but she takes the time to get to know the residents individually.
"I like to make them smile," she said. "I care about them. I love to work with people."
WHEN ZELAYA DAYDREAMS about her future, she said she imagines herself as a nurse working in a hospital.
She has learned a lot about working with people from her part-time job at the retirement community. She has also learned a lot from people who have reached out to her in school.
"So many people have helped me to feel comfortable around here," she said. "I want to do that for people some day."
The girl who once felt so alone in Sterling cannot imagine her life without some of the people who live there.
"My life could have been so different," she said. "I will come back in five, 10 years. I will come back to see all of the teachers I’ve made friends with and all the people who helped me along the way."