Araceli Brambila

BA in English, 2013; BA in Public Health Policy, 2013; Master of Arts in Education, 2015
School of Education

February 1, 2015

“Working as an Intervention Aide ignited my passion for reading intervention and support.”

I received my BA in English and Public Health Policy at UC Irvine in June 2013 with the intention of developing a career in the public health field. All my undergraduate experience, however, had been in education.

My freshman through junior years I was a student assistant for several programs at the Center for Educational Partnerships (CFEP). These programs included the Irvine Math Project (IMP), the Early Academic Outreach Program (EAOP), and the Saturday Math Academy (SAM) where I was a tutor in a middle school classroom in Santa Ana.

As a junior I was a Discussion Leader for the UCI University Studies 1 course that helped to prepare freshman students for university level coursework and campus life. This was my first experience in being the primary teacher of a group of students, and I truly enjoyed connecting with and making an impact on my students.

When I was a senior I was hired to be a Peer Academic Advisor for the Undecided/Undeclared Department. In this position I was able to advise students and help them balance courses and extracurricular activities as they navigated through their first year of college. This was truly a rewarding experience since I could watch the students that regularly visited the advising office grow academically and find their passions at UCI.

Upon graduation I was looking for an entry-level position in the health field, but my mother, who works for a school district close to home, urged me to apply for an Intervention Aide position at a local elementary school. As an Intervention Aide I helped place students in correct reading intervention programs, as well as helping to run the programs, and provided assistance in Kindergarten, 2nd grade, and 6th grade classrooms. This was where my interest in elementary education truly began, especially my passion for reading intervention and support, as well as combining subjects in order to create more comprehensive and interdisciplinary lessons for students.

I currently am in the Multiple Subject Credential program, as well as pursuing a bilingual authorization with fieldwork in a dual-immersion Spanish classroom. Being in a dual-immersion classroom has helped me to revive the bilingualism I had as a child. In addition, the experience has ignited my passion for bilingual education as a mechanism to better prepare students academically so they can be competitive in our multicultural society.

I will complete my credential courses by June and will be continuing in the Masters of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program this summer.

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