B.A. in Earth & Environmental Science; Teacher Credential 2008
School of Education
February 1, 2010
Intern Candidate Discovers Her Road to Teaching
Some people are born knowing what they want to do with their life the day they graduate from college. They take the right classes, graduate on time, if not early, and are filled with gratification and joy as they begin the career that they have worked so hard to attain. Others graduate from college and begin a journey of self-discovery, which includes the ups and downs of self-realizations, surprises, and adventures. I am a member of the latter group. After graduating from high school in Spokane, Washington, I packed up my things and set off for the University of San Diego where I was sure that I would take some classes, graduate, and become a Sea World animal trainer.
Four schools, four majors, and four years later I graduated from the University of California, Irvine, with a degree in Earth and Environmental Science and no idea what I should do next. Consequently, I journeyed to Honduras, where I spent two months learning how to become a Scuba Divemaster. After traveling around Central America, and developing my Spanish language ability, I came back to Southern California and tried to figure out what to do next.
A few trials and errors brought me to the Department of Education at UCI, and I was hooked instantly on the teaching profession and UCI’s program. I recognized that the opportunity to become a teacher would provide an opportunity to have a positive impact on youth AND an opportunity to play with science every day. What could be better?
I enrolled in UCI’s program and was really impressed with the faculty. My advisors and professors were incredibly supportive, helpful, and insightful as I learned how to manage the world of teaching, which involves so much more than I had ever imagined.
This last year has passed by in a bit of a blur. It was one year ago I met Karol Gottfredson, the Department of Education Intern Coordinator, who told me about the Intern program. This program has provided my classmates and me with an opportunity to jump straight into teaching. We took our beginning classes last Spring and Summer and are finishing our coursework on nights and weekends while we teach full time. It’s true that we are often rely on energy drinks to get us through class, but we all have grown tremendously in our ability to teach.
I am currently teaching Earth Science at Godinez Fundamental High School in Santa Ana. This has been a real adventure and an amazing opportunity because the school is new, open for the first time this year. As a result there are only freshman and sophomores at the school, and they are energetic and enthusiastic about being the beginning of something great.