B.A. in Psychology & Social Behavior, 2012; Teacher Credential 2013
School of Education
July 1, 2012
Graduating Senior Receives Tim Tift Award for Extraordinary Service as Undergraduate Peer Assistant
This June I graduated from UCI with a major in Psychology and Social Behavior and a minor in Education. I will be in the single subject credential program at UCI in the fall. I plan on teaching science, preferably life science or biology. I love to work with kids and I cannot wait to have my own classroom and begin my teaching career!
Ever since I was young, I knew that I wanted to be a teacher. My cousin and I set up a mock classroom in my garage and every day after school, the neighborhood kids would come over. We taught lessons, gave spelling tests, did experiments and much more. We played school almost every day and loved every minute of it! Also, my mom was a teacher for many years and now is the Director of Curriculum for Garden Grove Unified School District. She has also been an inspiration to me. She has always stressed the importance of education, which has given me a strong foundation and a mindset that has helped me get to where I am today.
Throughout my school years, I was the type of student who always wanted to help others, go up to the board, and help the teacher. I remember one instance where my 7th grade teacher gave me the responsibility of reading out the new spelling list to the class every Monday. I loved that role because I got to sit in her chair, be in front of the class, and act like a teacher. Also, my friends knew that I was always the one to go to if they needed help on homework or had difficulty understanding a concept. I was always eager to help my peers and still am!
My pathway to teaching really began once I entered college at UCI. During the summer after my freshman year, I took Education 50 with Coach T (Tim Tift). It was during this course that I learned about the origins, purposes, and history of education. I loved the course and I decided that I was going to minor in Education. After the course ended, Coach T asked me if I would like to peer assist for his Ed 50 class in the fall and of course I said yes! I then went on to peer assist for Coach T at least six or seven times throughout my four years at UCI. Being a peer assistant has given me invaluable experience in working and collaborating with my peers. From this experience, I have really mastered the material and I feel that I have a strong foundation in the education field. (Peer Assistant Program: 2009)
This past spring, I served as a lead peer assistant for Coach T, where I had the responsibilities of creating and collaborating on the syllabus, the tests, and other assignments. I also gave a few short presentations to the class on how to use the UCI Libraries website to find peer reviewed academic journal articles.
In May, at the Peer Assistant Recognition Ceremony, I was honored to receive the first ever Tim Tift Award for my service as a peer assistant. Coach T has served as my mentor throughout my career at UCI and I am very grateful to him for the opportunities he has given me. Thank you Coach T! I will miss you!
In addition to serving as a peer assistant, I have also been working as an Advancement via Individual Determinism (AVID) tutor at Bell Intermediate School in Garden Grove for the past two years. AVID is a college readiness program that encourages students to collaborate, use inquiry, and learn study and organizational skills. My role as a tutor is to serve as a mentor to the students and facilitate group tutorials. As an AVID tutor, I have gained experience being in the classroom, interacting with students, and being a part of a school’s culture. I have loved being an AVID tutor and I will take the experiences I have had and the lessons I have learned with me into the credential program in the fall.
I am very excited and eager to begin the credential program this fall. I cannot wait to start observing at school sites and begin student teaching. My dream would be to teach 7th grade life science or 9th grade biology. Also, if I end up teaching at the high school level, I would love to teach a marine biology class where I could introduce my students to the wonders of the ocean!
I am very thankful for everyone in my life that has helped me get to where I am today. Thank you Mom, Dad, Tyler, Coach T, Gisela, my AVID co-workers, my students, and all of my professors at UCI. You all have prepared me well to begin my career as a teacher!
