Rym Khaldi found a jumpstart to her engineering career in the U.S. through Oakland Literacy Council.

Originally from Tunisia in northern Africa, Rym’s first language is Arabic. Her second is French. Her third is English. “I studied English a little bit in Tunisia,” the 33-year-old woman says, “but I didn’t need to use it." All of that changed last summer when she joined her husband in the U.S.

A quality assurance engineer by training, Rym hoped to get a job in her field in the U.S. “It was challenging,” she recalls. “Every recruiter was asking me whether I have experience here in the United States, and this was the reason of being rejected every time...looking for a job was a full-time job.”

Rym turned to Oakland Literacy Council for help. In August, she began weekly English lessons with volunteer tutor Isabelle Zablock. In September, she began a nine-week job preparation workshop for English language learners. Rym credits both experiences with helping her secure a paid, full-time internship with People Tech Group as a QA engineer on contract to General Motors.

“Isabelle helps me a lot to build confidence and my communication skills,” Rym says. “At first, I…I was scared to speak with people. I know sometimes they don’t understand me, and I feel shame to ask them to repeat themselves.”

Isabelle, a prelaw student at Michigan State University, felt a strong connection to Rym because they both have Arabic backgrounds. (Isabelle’s parents immigrated from Iraq.) Isabelle says Rym is a quick learner. “A couple of lessons seemed intimidating in the beginning, and we approached it slowly, but by the end she was cruising through it.”

The job workshop introduced Rym to American hiring culture and helped her polish her resume. The workshop was designed by Sarah DeLadurantey, senior human resources business partner at Amazon anda former tutor. Sarah says, “I was immediately impressed with Rym who helped her classmates by sharing her experience and feedback with them in a highly professional and respectful way.” Other HR professionals volunteered time to coach Rym and the other workshop participants. One of the volunteers, Karen Haneline, says Rym’s “confidence and teamwork coupled with her use of resources around her will set her up for future success.”

Interviewing for a job in the U.S. is “is completely different” than in Tunisia, Rym realized. The workshop prepared her to interview for a six-month internship with People Tech Group. This time, the recruiter hired her. “It was like a dream,” Rym says.

The internship allows Rym to build work experience in the U.S. As part of the internship, Rym tests software updates to the infotainment dashboards that let car riders use maps, listen to music, and more. Rym hopes her internship will lead to a permanent, good-paying job here.