Meet Zoharys: EnGen Learner, Aspiring Pharmacist – and U.S. Citizen
“At first I was too shy to even speak with someone. I feel more comfortable now. EnGen helped me to open up, to open my life. Being in a different country with a different language is difficult. EnGen helped me with that.”
EnGen has helped Zoharys Ureña connect not only with English skills, but also to reconnect with her career path.
Originally from the Dominican Republic, Zoharys worked as a pharmacy technician with plans to complete medical school and become a doctor.
“I like helping people; I’ve always been like that,” she says. “I like helping everyone and trying to make people feel better.”
But a move to the United States paused her career plans.
“At first, living in Florida was difficult because of the language. I had studied English in the Dominican Republic, but it was still difficult,” Zoharys recalls. “I came here with a base in English.”
A friend referred her to a job at Amazon – and to Career Choice, an educational benefit for Amazon employees that offers pathways to English skills, career training, and college credit. Since 2022, Amazon Career Choice has partnered with EnGen to offer English upskilling to thousands of Amazon employees like Zoharys.
“I started with a warehouse and safety course. And then I realized that I knew more English than I thought, and I said ‘Wow Zohayrs, maybe you can study for something bigger,’” she recalls “So I took a pharmacy course. It was amazing, it made me realize I wanted to do it, I wanted to return to pharmacy.”
To date, Zoharys has completed nearly 1,250 activities and 34 units in the EnGen platform, which offers more than 125 career-aligned, mobile-first course offerings designed specifically for adult learners, spanning from “English for E-Commerce” to “English for Pharmacy Technicians.” Courses connect learners with both the English skills and career skills to access opportunities in high-demand sectors.
As Zohayrs works towards her goal to become a pharmacist – her first step is community college to finish general education courses, and then she’ll enroll in a university program to complete graduate-level coursework required for a pharmacy license – she plans to keep working at Amazon and access Career Choice’s generous college tuition benefit.
In the meantime, EnGen will help her complete another major milestone: Becoming a U.S. citizen. EnGen’s courses on “Preparing for the Civics Test” and “Naturalization and Civic Engagement” support learners with both the English skills and content knowledge about the process and rights and responsibilities of becoming a U.S. citizen.
In addition to improving English proficiency and confidence in using the language, more than 87% of EnGen learners report having achieved a major career or social goal – like a pay raise, promotion, or civic engagement.
“I’m finishing the citizenship course now, and will apply this summer, after the fifth anniversary of my arrival in the U.S.”
Zoharys hopes that her journey will set an example for her son, now two years old.
“I’m going to tell him that EnGen made a difference – I started to realize how much [English] I understood and to test myself about how much I knew and to do something different,” Zoharys said. “And I’m going to be a pharmacist and he’s going to be proud of me – because his mom can do it!”
EnGen partners with Fortune 500 companies, regional employers, educational institutions and government agencies to serve tens of thousands of adult English learners like Zoharys. Learn how it can work for your organization: https://getengen.com/demo