Experience Summary
I was accepted into AmeriCorps*NCCC, a community-based, government-run volunteer program upon my college graduation in 2003. Over the course of the next year, I was able to participate in projects that included working with the homeless, foodbanks, environmental projects, Habitat for Humanity and various educational programs. It was during my time as a teacher and tutor at an elementary school in a very low-income area in Sacramento, California, that I discovered my knack for teaching. Although I received my BA in English Writing, I never thought to pursue teaching as a career. It was because of the AmeriCorps-inspired love of travel, thirst for knowledge and the education award I received upon my completion of service that inspired me to continue my education at OSU-Tulsa. While working on my MA in TESL, I have been able to teach at the University of Tulsa, Tulsa Community College and with the Adult Education Programs at Union Public Schools. I have also been working on completing the requirements for an Alternative Teaching Certification through the state of Oklahoma.
Teaching Style
I have discovered that the gift of teaching is valuable in almost any career one chooses. I have found myself drawn to the role of manager, teacher, leader, trainer and facilitator in spite of the variety of jobs I have had over the last couple of years. My formal training has been in the English as a Second Language (ESL) arena with most of my actual teaching experience being with adult or college-aged, non-English-speaking individuals. I thoroughly enjoy teaching those students trying to improve their written and oral communication skills enough to be accepted into a university. I also have a great admiration for those students I teach at the community level. These are students that are not going to school because someone is telling them to or even because they are going to gain anything other than knowledge. These adults have a desire to better themselves and their quality of life, and I am honored to be a part of that process. Because the (adult) language classroom is so unique, I find that utilizing communicative language techniques, authentic materials and truly meaningful activities to be the best way of reaching the serious students' motivational standards.