Tell us why you became a teacher

Coming from Guatemala and lacking the knowledge of the language made every word a discovery. One day, I walked into Mr. Cuevas’ classroom, my ELD teacher, and asked “¿Qué significa because?” What does because mean? That day he explained to me the relationship between why and because, how one is the answer to the other, the same as por qué and porque in Spanish. This event inspired me to find my own because in life. I want to say that Mr. Cuevas is my because on becoming a teacher.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

My most memorable teaching experience was teaching my ESL class how to ask questions in English. A few days after the lesson, one of my students approached me and said "I was able to ask questions to customers because now I know how!" My student works at a donut shop after school and seeing her excitement for using English at her job made me realize there are the experiences for which I teach, it is not about test scores is about how they use their learning in real-life scenarios.

What would you do with the $25,000?

A portion of the money would be used to expand outreach at my school site. Specifically, I’d like to fund tutoring programs or mentorship opportunities for English language learners, focusing on helping students with diverse linguistic backgrounds navigate their academic challenges. This is something I’ve already been passionate about through my volunteering and leadership roles, but the $25,000 would provide the means to create more sustainable, impactful projects for my ELs