{"id":2268,"date":"2026-07-01T16:02:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T16:02:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/?p=2268"},"modified":"2026-07-01T16:12:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T16:12:19","slug":"studies-entrepreneurship-and-community-advocacy-meet-olivier-b","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/blog\/2026\/07\/01\/studies-entrepreneurship-and-community-advocacy-meet-olivier-b\/","title":{"rendered":"Studies, Entrepreneurship, and Community Advocacy: Meet Olivier B."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-2271 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2026-05-19-at-3.30.57-PM-e1779222751275-232x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"232\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2026-05-19-at-3.30.57-PM-e1779222751275-232x300.png 232w, https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2026-05-19-at-3.30.57-PM-e1779222751275.png 681w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 232px) 100vw, 232px\" \/> Olivier B. is from Uvira, a major city in South Kivu Province in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. He brings a multilingual, globally minded perspective to the ACC community. Like many other students enrolled in the ESOL Program, which he completed in the fall of 2023, Olivier is proficient in multiple languages, including Kinyamulenge, Swahili, French, and, of course, English. Olivier studied nursing in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but decided to change his career path after moving to Austin.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of Olivier\u2019s significant breakthroughs in the ESOL Program was realizing, \u201cI could understand conversations and respond naturally without translating everything in my head first.\u201d This shift toward natural language gave Olivier greater confidence and comfort with English. Additionally, h<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">e identifies writing as the key academic skill he developed in the ESOL Program that continues<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">to support him in his current classes at ACC.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Today, Olivier works in real estate while pursuing a Business Administration degree, with plans to transfer to a four-year university. He\u2019d like to earn an MBA and continue building a career in real estate and entrepreneurship.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Outside of work and school, Olivier enjoys playing soccer. He also stands out for his generosity and community-mindedness. He has worked professionally serving refugees in Austin as a case manager, and is a pillar of support for fellow Congolese and other immigrants. \u201cI am always willing to help others and share any resources or opportunities I may have access to.\u201d Olivier carries a strong sense of responsibility toward others, approaching success as something to share with the community.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Olivier\u2019s message to current ESOL students is to stay curious, read often, practice daily, and be willing to participate fully in life in the US, especially by becoming involved in their communities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Olivier B. is from Uvira, a major city in South Kivu Province in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. He brings a multilingual, globally minded perspective to the ACC community. Like many other students enrolled in the ESOL Program, which he completed in the fall of 2023, Olivier is proficient in multiple languages, including Kinyamulenge, Swahili, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":{"carousel_content":false},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Studies, Entrepreneurship, and Community Advocacy: Meet Olivier B. - English for Speakers of Other Languages<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Olivier B., a former ESOL student, is pursuing a degree in Business Administration while working in real estate. 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