Jennifer Auproux

BA in History, 2013; Master of Arts in Teaching, 2015
School of Education

April 1, 2015

“I cannot wait to have my own classroom.”

I attended school in the Burbank Unified School District where my mother taught Kindergarten. I grew up in her classroom and there my love for teaching was born.

As far back as I can remember, I always had the desire to be a teacher. I would help her prepare her lessons for the following day, while pretending that I was the teacher. She would always share with me her enthusiasm for teaching and the rewards of making a difference in her students’ lives. Although I saw how much work was involved in being a teacher, I knew that teaching would be my life’s passion.

Throughout my elementary, middle, and high school years, I volunteered after school  and during summer vacation at different sites in order to gain more experience. I helped teachers in their classrooms and assisted the office staff.

During my high school years, my family and I began visiting different universities. After touring the UC Irvine campus, I knew this was where I wanted to go to school.

Once I began attending UC Irvine, my love of teaching blossomed. As a freshman, I joined Humanities Out There (HOT), where we assisted high school students in history and English classes. Implementing the HOT guidelines, we delivered lessons that enriched the student’s classroom curriculum, while attempting to foster a love of higher education for these students.

I have been thrilled with the opportunities that UC Irvine has provided me. While pursuing my History major, with a minor in Educational Studies, I began volunteering at THINK Together, an after school program, at Vey Elementary School for a class assignment, but after that was completed, I continued to volunteer there throughout my undergraduate years.

I worked as a Research Assistant with the ST Math project and was also a Research Assistant for CRCL. Additionally, I was Secretary and President of Teachers of Tomorrow (TOT), our future teacher’s club. Through these experiences, I gained valuable knowledge and insight about the different facets of education, as well as cultivated many professional and personal relationships with different staff members.

After I graduated with my BA in History in December 2013, I traveled to Italy, where I taught high school English for six weeks. Although I did not speak Italian, this experience solidified my desire to teach. I could not wait to return to UC Irvine to begin my Multiple Subject /Masters Program in June of 2014.

I am currently student teaching in my first assignment, in a sixth grade classroom, at Davis Magnet School in Costa Mesa and am the Student Representative at our site. I am also pursuing my Single Subject Credential in Social Sciences.

Outside of school, I serve as a tutor and a nanny, and I love to read and to travel.

I look forward to what the future brings. I cannot wait to have my own classroom. Only time will tell where it will be and what grade I will teach. I do know that I cannot wait to begin this exciting new chapter in my life, following my childhood dream, to teach and make a difference in other people’s lives.

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