MatC Celebrates Diversity with Release of Fifth Edition of ‘Sharing Our World’ Book

On Friday, April 26, students and faculty at Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) gathered to celebrate the release of the “Sharing Our World” book. The fifth edition of the book, developed in the past five years by MATC’s community education pathway, features stories from over 200 MATC students from the English as a Second Language (ESL) program.

The book focuses on the personal journeys of students through poetry, essays, and more. Erin Helland, ESL instructor at MATC, spoke about how she believes that students feel a strong sense of pride when they see their work published in the book. “I think students feel a very strong sense of pride like wow, my work is published, look at this,” she said. “Not only that, but I can read my story in English, in front of people.”

The book represents forty-seven countries and showcases the diversity of MATC’s student body. This year’s edition highlights the resilience and determination of MATC’s ESL students as they navigate language barriers and share their stories with the world.