The BeginningMy interest in education began my senior year at Baylor University. I wrote a research paper on Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). With this burgeoning interest, I worked with my statistics professor with his project on "Judgments on Holistic Stimuli." My curiosity in ADHD became a catalyst to deepen his research. I added the Digit Span test and J.P. Das’s Grid test to assess attention span of the subjects. I was interested in further understanding the cognitive processes of individuals who may have Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). I reviewed the literature on memory, PASS Model of Cognitive Processes, attention, and selected readings in judgment and decision-making, using Psychlit and ERIC research programs. After this two-year study, my professor and I found that simultaneous processes of attention correlate to the cognitive functions of holistic decision-making skills. This project was presented the 42nd Annual Southwestern Psychological Association Conference, Houston, Texas in 1996. I was only undergraduate student at the time who presented at a conference. After I graduated, I realized that my interests were no longer to perform research in this area but to experience teaching students with ADHD hands on. I applied that year for a teacher's aide in the special education department for Klein ISD. It was an experimental year. Was I going to be a teacher or go to graduate school and study Human Development? After one year teaching middle school students, I decided that. . .the teaching profession would be my career. However, my interests were no longer for students with special needs, but for all students. I applied to the School of Education at University of Houston--Main Campus and began my master's degree in education, specializing in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on English Education. I earned this degree in 2001. |
Who I Am Today |
My students, in my Introduction to the Teaching Profession course, delivering instruction to Keystone Academy students in Summer 2016. My LSC students each surprised themselves that they had the ability to teach and make a great impact on their own students.
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In the recent years, I have played dual roles, both as an administrator and a faculty member.
I find great satisfaction in contributing to organizations through leadership and membership. I have the privilege of being a part of several boards within the field of teacher education and as a faculty member. Currently, I hold presidential positions for our LSC-CF Faculty Senate and the Texas Association of Community College Teacher Education (TACCTEP). I am also the secretary of the Consortium of State Organizations of Texas Teacher Education (CSOTTE). There have been great opportunities for myself and our members of TACCTEP to be part of organizations and committees where community college representatives were non-existent. For example, I also hold membership with the Educator Preparation Advisory Committee (EPAC) through the Texas Education Agency (TEA). I am the only CC represenative on the committee. Advocacy for students has been my primary motivation to help close achievement and opportunity gaps for all students, particularly community college students. Through my passion to advocate for CCs, I also strongly support the importance of seamless transitions for transfer students from the CC to the university. Institutions of higher education (IHEs) have long operated in silos, and this has consequentially hindered students from completing degrees as well as experiencing an equitable education. Fostering responsive and collaborative higher education partnerships has been a benefit to our Teacher Education Program at Lone Star College. Because of this growing passion, I have been given another privilege--being admitted to the University of Texas, at Austin, Educational Leadership and Policy doctoral program for the 2019-2022 cohort. I am very excited to embark on this new endeavor. I hope to leverage my learning experiences to provide more opportunities for CC students and use my knowledge to bolster CC programs. In terms of my faculty experiences, I also enjoy personally working with students, both teaching and advising. It is a goal of mine to cultivate within my education students a heart for their future students. This supersedes my desire for them to obtain excellent grades and to achieve academic accomplishments. Although both are certainly important, the root of longevity in the field of teaching is caring for the students. This I believe is central. I also enjoy witnessing my students realize their potential and discover their ability to teach early in their education pathway. When I see them teach and begin to care about their own students, I get inspired and this grounds me as a teacher. |
My Current Interests in Education |
My interests within the field is constantly growing. In the past five years, I have been given the privilege of creating partnerships with the community and universities, developing programs that target specific populations (paraprofessional teacher track), and finding unique opportunities for students to be inspired and to build curiosity within. Inspiration is a significant motivator for any pursuit. Curiosity leads to great unexpected discoveries. I also find satisfaction when I advise students within my department. They leave my office with a direction, purpose and a will to finish!
Additionally, there has been opportunities for colleagues and I to present at conferences and national meetings concerning topics, such as higher education partnerships to diversify the teaching profession, advocacy for teacher education at the community college, demographic gaps with teachers and students in the classroom and teacher recruitment efforts. Because of these opportunities, my current interests now concern teacher recruitment, teacher quality, and teacher development. Policies that pertain to these areas also solidify my interests in teacher education. There is much to learn and much to discover in order for American education to flourish, for students to succeed and for effective educators to lead. |