Past

I grew up in a great family in the metro Detroit area and started exploring Spanish when I was 13.  I loved the beauty of the language, and took three years of the language before going on a two-year hiatus.  In college, I realized that I wanted to be a teacher, and that through teaching English, I could serve students all over the world.  I selected Spanish as a major because I knew I enjoyed it and I knew that learning another language was the only way I could have any idea of what my students were experiencing as they learned English.  Later I added a minor in mathematics when I realized the need for math teachers that can work with English Language Learners.  I´ve really enjoyed the past couple years of learning about language and teaching and have loved my experiences teaching Spanish and English in the classroom.

Present

On April 30th, 2010, I will finish a full-year teaching internship at Renaissance High School in Detroit, MI.   During the year, I taught three sections of Spanish IV and a section of Algebra 1.  Through a series of challenges and triumphs, I have learned that the students are the only reason to keep teaching. Although life as an intern was busy, bright moments with my students kept me going. Some days it was simply watching them have a conversation in Spanish.  Other days it was laughing at an essay one had written in Spanish about his childhood.  The examples are endless: a student accepted to go to Japan, making a piñata with the Spanish Charla Club, seeing profound understanding of a poem in their faces. I was privileged to teach such hard-working, bright students this year, and I believe that every year that I work as a teacher will be a privilege.

This spring and summer I will be seeking teaching positions in Spanish, English to Speakers of Other Languages, and mathematics.  I will receive my certification this summer and will be highly qualified in all three subjects.