A Teacher’s Voice
My Journey
by
Magdalena
Mendoza
My name is Magdalena Mendoza and I am a Level 3 teacher at Carlos Rosario School. Like
many of my students, I am an immigrant. I came to the United States
from Poland, a beautiful country in Europe. I came here after college
because I wanted to practice my English. I went to school and I
studied as an ESL student. It was very hard and I had days when I
was so frustrated and angry at myself. I felt like I was not making
any progress. In addition, I was far away from my country, my
family, and my friends. I sometimes felt lonely, lost, and unhappy.
Finally, I realized that I was learning a lot and every day I was able
to understand more, talk to people, write and read in English.
I really enjoyed studying this language because I could talk to so
many people from so many different countries. English was the
tool that helped me communicate and understand different cultures
and traditions. When I was at school, I had great teachers who were
patient and who always tried to help me.
My mother is a teacher as well so I started to think this was something I wanted to do in life
professionally. I decided to be an English teacher and went to study at a university where
shortly after graduation I got my first job as a teacher. I was so nervous and excited at the
same time. The years of hard studying paid off and I knew I had attained my dream job. I was
even more excited when I was hired at Carlos Rosario School because I heard a lot of good
things about this place.
I really enjoy working with my students. Being a teacher is a very rewarding job because I
learn so much from the people around me. With the language I learned, my journey kept
going and I was delighted because it also led to my husband whom I love very much. I am
happy because I believe I have one of the best jobs. Everybody has a different journey that
sometimes can be hard. There are days when you don’t want to get up from your bed—when
you are sad and definitely not happy. Now, I always tell myself that I am lucky and I appreciate
what I have in my life. I am thankful for my family, my friends, and my amazing students at
Carlos Rosario School.
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