Rosa Gonzalez has loved to teach Spanish from the first day she started, but the journey to becoming one in Wichita Falls wasn’t an easy task.
From an 18-year-old teenager first coming into the U.S. to one of Memorial’s first Spanish teachers, Gonzalez prevailed through life and came out successful.
Gonzalez first came into the U.S. only knowing how to understand English. She couldn’t speak it very well, and she felt nervous and afraid people would tease her for not speaking correctly. However, she overcame this problem and kept moving.
“It was challenging, but I did it,” Gonzalez said. “I learned English, and after that, I’m here.”
She relied and still relies on her values and family. She used her values all throughout high school and college.
“I come from a family that reminds you all the time that you’re an important person, that you matter and wherever you are, no matter what, you always have to think on what values you have in order to make decisions in life,” Gonzalez said. “When I was in high school, most of the time I was very positive. I had good friends, and all the time I used to remember what my parents would advise me before choosing something.”
Gonzalez started her journey on becoming a teacher in Mexico, originally wanting to be an elementary teacher. However, soon after coming into the U.S., she changed her route after spending time and struggling through the language barrier.
“I came here at the age of 18 years old, which is around the age of a student in high school that is thinking of what to do in the future,” Gonzalez said. “I was thinking, ‘I wish I could be a student here learning how to speak English.’”
Gonzalez went to three different universities and a community college during her college career. After arriving here in 2013, Gonzalez lived in Austin, attending a community college there. After a couple of years, she started attending Midwestern State University to get her major in Spanish and minor in education.
“I also have a masters in bilingual education from Texas A&M,” Gonzalez said. “When I was at Midwestern, I traveled to Granada, Spain to study advanced literature levels in Spanish, and I obtained my certificate in the summer, then returned back to MSU.”
Gonzalez used her experience of trying to learn English to help other people who struggle with the same problem, but different language. She went through many courses at community college when she finally realized what she really wants to do.
“I thought ‘Maybe I need to teach Spanish to other people that are around me, because they may be having similar issues like the ones I’m facing right now with languages, which in my case is English,’” she said. “So that’s when I thought about being a teacher.”
It wasn’t until later when Gonzalez finished her courses when she thought about teaching Spanish.
“When I fully learned the language, that’s when I decided, ‘Yes, I’m going to go into education and I’m going to be teaching Spanish,’” Gonzalez said, “Later I thought, ‘I think I want to go into high school and focus only on Spanish.’”
It was then when Gonzalez got her first job at Rider High School, teaching there for the last seven years, and now teaching at Memorial High School.
Gonzalez’s biggest inspirations were her parents, who were there for her from the very start.
“They always both encouraged me to pursue my dreams, to continue working hard and make good decisions in my life,” Gonzalez said. “Thanks to their motivation, I am a teacher and I just finished my masters in bilingual ESL education. I am happy and blessed to have them as my parents.”
Gonzalez has three main goals for her time as one of Memorial’s first teachers.
“One is to maintain a positive attitude in a classroom environment. Another one is to participate in as many activities as I can with my students,” she said. “But I think the most important one is to build and establish good relationships with parents, students and teachers in this new high school.”
From when she first got into the U.S. to now, Gonzalez has learned all kinds of new things. She learned about her Spanish culture when she was younger, then as she came to America, she learned about the culture here.
“I compare all the time, since I am bilingual. I’m always making connections and comparing. ‘What’s the difference between my Spanish culture and American culture?’’ Gonzalez said. “I’ve been trying to combine both so we can keep it at the same time. So those are helping me understand beyond the culture.”
Gonzalez continues to learn from the people around her. Not just the teachers, but the students as well.
“I have been learning, and I am still learning every day. I go through new experiences, new adventures, challenging topics in both languages,” Gonzalez said. “Every language is different, and it’s not just the language, it’s what is behind the culture of each language.”
Gonzalez plans to keep learning about all kinds of different things as she continues through the school year and many more years to come.
Her story shows that no matter how difficult the journey may be, keep trying and eventually, with enough hard work and determination, you’ll accomplish your dreams.
