
On September 1st, LCNV hosted the 59th Annual Recognition Ceremony at the James Lee Community Center Theater, to honor our learners, volunteers, instructors, and community partners and to reflect on our journey together over the past year.
This year’s theme was "Learning Lights My Path Forward" and the event featured LCNV student essay readers sharing the ways that learning English has impacted their future. For the first time since 2019, we gathered in person as a community to reflect on our achievements from the past year and the support that has been so graciously given throughout these challenging times.
To learn more about LCNV’s Annual Recognition Ceremony and to read more essays from our learners, view the 2021 ARC Program Book!
Student Essay Readers:
- Nadia Gomaa
- Waleska Ortega
- Ignacia Pacheco

Community Partner Awards:
- BlackRock, Inc.
- City of Alexandria's COVID-19 Community Response Advisory Committee
- Fairfax County's COVID-19 Community Partners Strategy Team
- The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation

LCNV Executive Director, Roopal Saran, presents Fairfax County's COVID-19 Community Partners Strategy Team with the Community Partner Award of the Year.
Volunteers of the Year:
- Sajida
- Laurie Hayden
- Karen Schroth

2021 Patricia M. Donnelly Merit Scholarship Winner: Berta Jaramillo

Named in honor of the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia's retired Executive Director who led the organization from 2002 to 2017, the Patricia M. Donnelly Merit Scholarship is awarded to an outstanding beginning-level LCNV learner whose dedication to literacy inspires the LCNV community. This scholarship, which covers up to six semesters of classes, is given to students who exemplify commitment, perseverance, achievement, and classroom leadership.
"My main goal is to improve my listening, speaking, reading, and writing English skills to become a bilingual person in order to pass the U.S. citizenship test."
-Berta Jaramillo
Channel 16 News Highlights LCNV's 59th Annual Recognition Ceremony
You can also watch a short video from Fairfax County’s Channel 16 News featuring LCNV’s Executive Director, Roopal Saran, as well as Fairfax County Providence District Supervisor, Dalia Palchik, and one of our essay readers, Ignacia Pacheco!
Past Annual Recognition Ceremony Videos: