June 30
When Andres Cuellar Herrera moved to the United States from Colombia three years ago, he planned to work for a couple months and then return home. Instead, he discovered North Shore Community College (NSCC) and took his first step to fulfilling his dream of attending medical school.
“I was hoping to find a way to get to medical school, but I wasn't sure how that would work. I came to North Shore to find a way,” he said.
Selected as the student speaker for the College’s morning Commencement ceremony, Cuellar graduated summa cum laude with his dual language liberal arts transfer degree. In fall 2027, he will transfer to Northeastern University.
NSCC helped him navigate the American higher education system and set him up for success as he worked full time throughout his degree.
Dual Language Learning
At first, applying and attending college felt overwhelming, and taking college-level classes in English was a challenge—for example, his biology course used terms and vocabulary he didn’t even know in Spanish.
He found that NSCC’s faculty and staff supported him every step of the way: his professors offered him flexibility as he juggled work and school, and the Tutoring Center gave him extra support when writing in English.
“The first person I met when I got into North Shore was my advisor, and right from the beginning she was so confident I was going to make it. She didn't even know me, but she was so sure I was going to be a doctor. That trust filled me with confidence,” Cuellar said.
After his first semester, Cuellar entered the College’s dual language liberal arts transfer pathway, the only dual language transfer degree program in the state. Students in this pathway take courses taught in Spanish and English with bilingual support, strengthening their skills in both languages while earning an associate degree in liberal arts.
In the dual language program, not only did Cuellar develop his communication skills in both English and Spanish, but he found his community.
“The difference sometimes isn't even about the language—it's about people getting you,” he said. “I now feel more comfortable with English-only environments, but at the beginning when I was in that transition, it was important to find people like me.”
Keep Moving Forward
NSCC holds several Transfer Fairs throughout the year, where colleges and universities from all over the region set up tables and talk to students about transferring to a four-year program. It was at one of these Transfer Fairs that Cuellar learned more about Northeastern University and its pre-med track, and in the fall, Cuellar will start classes in the university's Health Sciences program.
At NSCC’s morning Commencement ceremony, Cuellar delivered a speech about the power of perseverance. Like many of his fellow graduates, he overcame many challenges on the path to his diploma, and he urged them to continue working hard.
“That’s what North Shore becomes: a place where you can trust that someone will help you figure it out. A place where the most complicated things become something you can actually do,” he said.
“The plan might change. Actually, it probably will. But that doesn’t mean you’re lost—it just means you’re moving forward.”
Learn more about NSCC’s dual language liberal arts transfer pathway.