Wilmer Guerrero

Walking into the office of Wilmer Guerrero, CEO of Huntington Language Center in Huntington, N.Y., one would never believe that only 10 years ago he had limited knowledge of the English language and could only type with one finger.

“As an immigrant, to overcome the problem with the language is very hard. But you have to look for resources. Plaza College was my resource,” he said.

When Guerrero enrolled in Plaza College in 1999, at the age of 33, he learned to type and so much more. After graduating with high honors from Plaza in 2001, Guerrero knew he wasn’t done.

“I remember some words that Dean Lin Loffert of Plaza College said once. She said, ‘Once you become students, you’ll get addicted to studying. You won’t be able to stop. That was true. It happened to me.”

In fact, Guerrero, who came to the United States from Ecuador 19 years ago, went on to receive his Bachelor’s in Business Administration from DeVry and his MBA from Adelphi University. From the day he enrolled in Plaza College, Guerrero dreamed of opening his own Language Center.

“English is the easiest language in the world if you are positive. Anything you do --- if you focus on everything that’s going to be hard, then it will be hard. But if you’re positive and think it’s going to be easy, it will become easier.” Guerrero said.

This philosophy led him to Huntington, N.Y. On a whim, he walked into a church in Huntington one Sunday and introduced himself to the Pastor. He told the Pastor about his dream, and then he got his big break. The pastor opened the church to Guerrero and allowed him to use a room to teach English classes to the local Hispanic Community. The response was overwhelming.

“We started with 4 chairs in one room at the church. This then grew to 12 students. In a month, we had 24 students. Then, after another month we had 48 students. We began taking over the church! I knew we needed a place of our own.” Guerrero said.

Today, Guerrero has a beautiful school on New York Ave. in Huntington. Instead of one room with four chairs, he now teaches classes in several rooms and offers morning, afternoon, and evening classes during the week, and also on the weekend. In November of 2009, Guerrero and his colleagues celebrated their first anniversary. They now have over 150 students and have published their own teaching materials that have guided their students to great success. In the next year, Guerrero plans to open another branch of Huntington Language Center in Brentwood, N.Y. Within the next few years, Guerrero plans to fulfill one of his greatest dreams: to open his own high school in Ecuador.

Guerrero remembers Plaza College Dean of Students, Mrs. Lin Loffert, as one of his greatest role models. Dean Loffert recalls noticing Guerrero’s potential, even when he came for tutoring in the Learning Resources Center.

“Wilmer’s story is the most rewarding thing about teaching. He was one who really believed that success comes 24/7. He never settles for anything,” Loffert said, “he really personifies my philosophy: the effort you put into something – you get back tenfold. He has that astute sense of knowing other people’s needs and meeting those needs.”

However, for Guerrero, the real success is in the students. “Once you have a job you enjoy, you don’t work,” he said, “I don’t work here. It’s fun to be here. It’s fun to know that when students first come here they know nothing about the language, but then later they come to talk to you in the language they never knew they’d be able to speak: English.”