To me, being a STEM/Math teacher means an opportunity to change a broken system and help with my little piece of the puzzle to form something new and better.
I have always been in love with school and the process of learning. I have also always been in love with Math and Social Justice. Teaching Math was the perfect way that I found to combine all of my passions into one. Being a female Latina in STEM, which is a field dominated by white males in the United States, means that I have the opportunity to help shape the system that we all have experience for centuries and hopefully help other young females and/or other students of color to realize that they can too be whatever they want to be, even if they aren't as represented in the field.
To me, being a Math teachers has also always been about helping others realize that they aren't just good or bad in math, that they get to decide what they want to succeed in. That math can be fun and exciting to learn and discover. I will always remember those teachers who made my math classes the best part of my school day. I enjoyed learning and understanding new concepts and I want to be that teacher for future students. I want to become the person that helps at least one student realize that after being told all their lives that they aren't good in math that they can actually be successful and amazing at it.
