Read Write Now learner Albert Jasareno has been recognised as one of the 2026 Learning Changes Lives Foundation Prize winners, receiving $500 to support the next stage of his learning journey.
The Learning Changes Lives Foundation is the charitable arm of Adult Learning Australia and each year, during Adult Learners Week, recognises adult learners whose stories demonstrate the impact that learning can have on people’s lives.
For Albert, that journey began when he connected with Read Write Now at North Metropolitan TAFE to improve his English skills. He made strong progress in his first months and soon began looking for new ways to challenge himself. As his confidence grew, Albert expanded his learning to include mathematics, with the aim of preparing for further study.
Building skills and confidence
Through his tutoring, Albert has strengthened his reading and writing skills, including his understanding of punctuation and written conventions. He has also improved his ability to retain and recall what he reads — something he had previously found difficult.
But for Albert, the benefits of learning have gone well beyond literacy and numeracy.
Writing has become a way for him to organise his thoughts, reinforce what he has learned and reflect on his experiences. His progress has also helped build his confidence and self-belief, giving him a stronger sense that he can shape the direction of his own future.
Albert’s positive attitude, openness to learning and willingness to keep developing have been central to his progress. Rather than being discouraged by challenges, he continues to look for opportunities to learn, improve and move forward.
Learning with a purpose
Albert’s next goal is to complete a Certificate IV in Mental Health and work as a Peer Support Worker.
He hopes to draw on his own lived experience to support people facing similar challenges and to offer the understanding that can come from having experienced difficult times firsthand.
For Albert, further study is therefore about much more than gaining a qualification. It is part of building a meaningful and purposeful future and becoming someone who can use his own experiences to make a positive difference in the lives of others.
Albert’s story is a wonderful example of how adult learning can begin with one goal — such as improving English — and grow into greater confidence, new ambitions and possibilities for the future.
Congratulations, Albert, on this well-deserved recognition. We look forward to seeing where your learning journey takes you next.
Read more about Albert and the 2026 Learning Changes Lives Foundation Prize winners on the Adult Learning Australia website.
