What inspired you to become a teacher? 

I had absolutely no plans to become a teacher as a kid. Like, I was the kid that if you would have told me that I was going to be a teacher I would have laughed at you. Um, but I after college wanted to use teaching to finance my travel. Like, I could just teach English and go around and so I went to Chile for a program called English Opens Doors. And so they would pay for my entire stay if I would teach English in a public school and I did for a year and I just was like oh wait, maybe this is meaningful and a good job. And so, I originally said I started teaching as an English as a second language teacher, but I just didn’t love how I had to move around to different schools to do that until I started teaching Spanish, and yeah that’s why I’m here. 

What is unique about teaching an AP foreign language?

I think what’s unique, the reason I love it so much is because I get to teach about all kinds of things: about politics, about history, about art, about, I mean just every possible thing like natural disasters, the environment. But, I get to do it in Spanish. So, yes, I am a Spanish teacher, but I am also teaching all kinds of other topics, just in a second language. And so it keeps me perpetually learning too. Like when I have to teach about the environment, well then I need to learn about, you know, the greenhouse effect or whatever. And so I like that about teaching upper levels. I like to just use it to communicate about other topics that interest me.

What has teaching brought you in life?

I think a lot of people that I know do not at all feel passionate about their jobs, who are not teachers. And I think that’s for me like, I feel like I’m doing something really meaningful on a day to day basis, and I don’t think a lot of people can say that about their professional lives. And so I think that’s what it has brought me. 

What do you do as a teacher that makes you stand out and win awards?

I think I relate to the kids. I think that maybe that’s part of it. As I get older I think that’s interesting because I am now very removed generationally from you guys, when I didn’t used to be. And so now, like I’ll make jokes and well, I think are hilarious, but no one understands things like that. But I think still I have been able to maintain some of that relationship with kids. But I also think that teaching Spanish lends itself to being fun because, again, you can talk about whatever. And so I think as long as um… It is a very communicative subject and I try to take advantage of that.