BS in Mathematics, 2006; Master of Arts in Teaching, 2007
School of Education
October 1, 2013
“UC Irvine helped prepare me to be an accomplished teacher with in-depth knowledge.”
I am a proud Anteater! Through its undergraduate and graduate programs, UC Irvine helped prepare me to be an accomplished teacher with in-depth knowledge in the field of mathematics.
Back in 2004, I started working as a classroom fellow through the UCI Center for Educational Partnership (CFEP) program administered by Roslyn Soto. In 2006, I graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics and a minor in Educational Studies. Right afterward, I continued to attend UCI for the Master of Arts in Teaching/Teacher Credential program. During my studies I was fortunate to be chosen twice as a recipient of the Noyce Scholarship, first in the final year of my undergrad studies and then in my credential year.
Even before graduating from the Master of Arts in Teaching/Teacher Credential program, I received several teaching assignment offers from different districts. I chose to work with the Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD) because I felt that I could make the most difference in my students’ lives due to my minority background.
In 2007 I started working at Willard Intermediate School with a wonderful and supportive team of math teachers. In my second year of teaching, I wrote a grant for calculators and was funded $5,000 by SchoolsFirst Credit Union. After four years of working at Willard, I decided that I want to grow professionally by moving to a high school setting, and I transferred to Saddleback High School in 2011. I have been working there since.
In my first year at Saddleback, I began working on the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification process. It was one of the most intense and productive professional development programs I have experienced since I attended the UCI graduate program. As a result of attaining my National Board Certification, I became a more effective teacher to my students and a more valuable colleague to my team of math teachers.
I continue to write grants to get new technologies for my students. Several of my projects were funded through donorschoose.org for computers, laptops, and calculators.
Over the past summer, I was recruited by National University to be an adjunct faculty in their School of Education. I am very anxious to take my career to the next level and continue my teaching and learning journey.