My identity is rooted in the Spanish language. It’s who I am culturally. It’s the language I use with my family and it’s the language I share with students on a day to day basis. From birth, my family spoke to me in Spanish. I grew up with my Abuela, as my mother and father worked in the seasonal harvest. With the Spanish language, I learned the nuances of the cultural perspective. Spanish has molded me to understand and empathize cultural disparities.

I pursued my education at Northwest Nazarene University (NNU) where I received my Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design and minors in Spanish and Photography. The four years of my undergraduate career entailed learning and applying the knowledge of design into real-time production of artwork, as well as, refining and correcting the grammar, syntax and spelling of my first spoken language, Spanish. I grew a passion for developing my skills in an interdisciplinary setting, uniting Spanish and design.

As I moved into the career realm, I was granted the opportunity to work as a community health educator at Southwest District Health. Primarily working with the Latino population, I was able to facilitate instruction in Spanish about healthier food choices and lifestyle. As well as design curriculum to accompany the education.

I enrolled in the Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction at NNU. My action research project touched on the integration of technology into the Spanish classroom. The results validated my hypothesis.

I was granted the opportunity to come in full time as a Spanish teacher at a high school in Meridian. Here I gained perspective and experience of how to manage a classroom. I quickly learned to balance multiple preps as I taught three varied levels of Spanish, yearbook, and graphic design.

Now in my eighth year of teaching, I am privileged to work on different teams and hold the department chair role in my current teaching position. I have introduced new courses and teaching methodologies. I have also obtained Dual Credit Instructor status at two universities in Idaho. At this point in my career, I wish to continue pushing the ideals of my journey in education.