{"id":2317,"date":"2026-07-20T19:27:53","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T19:27:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/?p=2317"},"modified":"2026-07-20T19:27:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T19:27:53","slug":"built-for-whats-next-aiden-gong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/blog\/2026\/07\/20\/built-for-whats-next-aiden-gong\/","title":{"rendered":"Built for What&#8217;s Next: Aiden Gong"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Aiden Gong&#8217;s journey is a wonderful example of how strengthening one&#8217;s English, paired with determination and support, can lead to exciting new opportunities. Starting with the ESOL Program at ACC, Aiden worked hard to overcome language barriers, completed his TSI requirements, and is now a Level 3 Nursing student aiming for a career in public health nursing. Throughout his journey, he gained confidence thanks to encouragement from faculty, tutors, and ACC&#8217;s student support services. He also enjoys helping other students at the Welcome Center as they navigate their college paths. Read Aiden&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/07\/14\/built-for-whats-next-acc-esol-student-aiden-gong-overcomes-language-barriers-to-pursue-a-nursing-career\/?ref=spotlight\">inspiring story<\/a> posted on the <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/\">ACC Newsroom<\/a> site to see how ACC&#8217;s ESOL Program played a part in helping him lay a strong foundation for his bright future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Aiden Gong&#8217;s journey is a wonderful example of how strengthening one&#8217;s English, paired with determination and support, can lead to exciting new opportunities. Starting with the ESOL Program at ACC, Aiden worked hard to overcome language barriers, completed his TSI requirements, and is now a Level 3 Nursing student aiming for a career in public [&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-2317","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>Built for What&#039;s Next: Aiden Gong - English for Speakers of Other Languages<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Aiden Gong&#039;s inspiring journey shows that improving one&#039;s English in the ESOL Program can open doors to academic success and a meaningful career in healthcare.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/blog\/2026\/07\/20\/built-for-whats-next-aiden-gong\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Built for What&#039;s Next: Aiden Gong - English for Speakers of Other Languages\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Aiden Gong&#039;s inspiring journey shows that improving one&#039;s English in the ESOL Program can open doors to academic success and a meaningful career in healthcare.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/blog\/2026\/07\/20\/built-for-whats-next-aiden-gong\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"English for Speakers of Other Languages\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-20T19:27:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"fkhan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"fkhan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/blog\/2026\/07\/20\/built-for-whats-next-aiden-gong\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/blog\/2026\/07\/20\/built-for-whats-next-aiden-gong\/\",\"name\":\"Built for What's Next: Aiden Gong - English for Speakers of Other Languages\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-20T19:27:53+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/#\/schema\/person\/fef1a32bc262d0f6bcc5f1aa9c7a17e2\"},\"description\":\"Aiden Gong's inspiring journey shows that improving one's English in the ESOL Program can open doors to academic success and a meaningful career in healthcare.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/blog\/2026\/07\/20\/built-for-whats-next-aiden-gong\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/blog\/2026\/07\/20\/built-for-whats-next-aiden-gong\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/blog\/2026\/07\/20\/built-for-whats-next-aiden-gong\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Built for What&#8217;s Next: Aiden Gong\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/\",\"name\":\"English for Speakers of Other Languages\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/#\/schema\/person\/fef1a32bc262d0f6bcc5f1aa9c7a17e2\",\"name\":\"fkhan\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c358f155f9a001abce1d5a342d5ac4f1b9bcb7fea544f2bb6024f2959c7dc8b5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c358f155f9a001abce1d5a342d5ac4f1b9bcb7fea544f2bb6024f2959c7dc8b5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"fkhan\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/blog\/author\/fkhan\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Built for What's Next: Aiden Gong - English for Speakers of Other Languages","description":"Aiden Gong's inspiring journey shows that improving one's English in the ESOL Program can open doors to academic success and a meaningful career in healthcare.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/blog\/2026\/07\/20\/built-for-whats-next-aiden-gong\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Built for What's Next: Aiden Gong - English for Speakers of Other Languages","og_description":"Aiden Gong's inspiring journey shows that improving one's English in the ESOL Program can open doors to academic success and a meaningful career in healthcare.","og_url":"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/blog\/2026\/07\/20\/built-for-whats-next-aiden-gong\/","og_site_name":"English for Speakers of Other Languages","article_published_time":"2026-07-20T19:27:53+00:00","author":"fkhan","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"fkhan","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/blog\/2026\/07\/20\/built-for-whats-next-aiden-gong\/","url":"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/blog\/2026\/07\/20\/built-for-whats-next-aiden-gong\/","name":"Built for What's Next: Aiden Gong - English for Speakers of Other Languages","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-07-20T19:27:53+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/#\/schema\/person\/fef1a32bc262d0f6bcc5f1aa9c7a17e2"},"description":"Aiden Gong's inspiring journey shows that improving one's English in the ESOL Program can open doors to academic success and a meaningful career in healthcare.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/blog\/2026\/07\/20\/built-for-whats-next-aiden-gong\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/blog\/2026\/07\/20\/built-for-whats-next-aiden-gong\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/blog\/2026\/07\/20\/built-for-whats-next-aiden-gong\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Built for What&#8217;s Next: Aiden Gong"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/#website","url":"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/","name":"English for Speakers of Other Languages","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/#\/schema\/person\/fef1a32bc262d0f6bcc5f1aa9c7a17e2","name":"fkhan","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c358f155f9a001abce1d5a342d5ac4f1b9bcb7fea544f2bb6024f2959c7dc8b5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c358f155f9a001abce1d5a342d5ac4f1b9bcb7fea544f2bb6024f2959c7dc8b5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"fkhan"},"url":"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/blog\/author\/fkhan\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2317"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2317\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2318,"href":"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2317\/revisions\/2318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liberalarts.austincc.edu\/esol\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}