Winter 2012 Issue - De La Salle Institute

STUDENT-TEACHERS GAINValuable Experience at De La SalleDuring the fall semester, De La Salle Institute was fortunate tonot only host, but also benefit from the energy and creativity offour student-teachers. Michael Evans and Sharon Carey workedwith the young men at the Institute Campus, while Jessica Garciaand Alejandra Laureano spent their time with the young womenat the Lourdes Hall Campus.Michael Evans is currently a Research Lab Manager at theIllinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chicago, and is alsoin the Master of Science Education program at IIT. Uponcompletion of his program, Mike is most interested in teachingbiology, anatomy, physiology, evolution, life science, andphysical science.Sharon Carey is the mother of triplets and has found herselfpursuing a second career in education after being in the insurancebusiness and an entrepreneur. Sharon is most interested inteaching English. “I love reading,” Sharon says, “and I findthat the most fun I have in the classroom is discussing literaturewith students. They have so many good ideas and come up withinteresting perspectives that I never even think of! It’s reallyneat to ‘read’ a book through my students’ eyes.”Jessica Garcia has found herself pursuing a career in Bilingual,Biology and Secondary Education at Northeastern IllinoisUniversity after experiencing the fundamentals within variouscareer paths. At the Lourdes Hall Campus, Jessica taughtBiology. “I find that the Life Sciences help to explain most ofwhat goes on every day and knowing these concepts helps us allto be better citizens. My second love in science is Physics. Theidea of time travel is appealing to me,” says Jessica.Alejandra Laureano is pursuing a degree in education whileattending Northeastern Illinois University. Alejandra spenther time at the Lourdes Hall Campus and is most interested inteaching theology and history upon completion of her degreeprogram.Q: Where did your interest in education and teaching begin?Michael: In high school, I used to tutor fellow students. When students would grasp the information, it excited both them and me.People would tell me I was a great tutor because I was easygoing and made learning interesting and fun. I realized that some of myprevious students started asking me for college help. These students would even refer me to their younger siblings saying, “Mikeis the best; he helped me get an A in Algebra.” From there, I became a lab manager and had to teach interns necessary laboratoryskills. I finally appreciated that all along the results the students and I were seeing were because I was more focused on the outcomeand not my input. Teaching just seemed natural to me.Sharon: About 15 years ago, I took a continuing education course through my employer at the time. The gentleman who taught thecourse was dynamic and interesting, and made the concepts we were learning easy to understand. Turns out I had a similar knackfor explaining even the most complicated concepts in simple terms.I was in the training field for about five years, and had my own business for about five years before I found myself pregnant withtriplets. This meant the end of my working life, at least for a few years, until the kids were of pre-school age. I put quite a bit ofthought into what I would do for a career at that point. I decided that training had been my favorite job, and teaching seemed like anatural outgrowth of training, so I started taking classes about six years ago, and have one class left this semester before I graduatein May. It’s been a long, interesting road!Jessica: After high school, I was not sure what I wanted to do. I went to a community college and took prerequisites and randomclasses to help me identify and grow my interests. I continued this journey for two years without success in deciding what I wantedto do. After my short college experience, I took a more practical approach to finding out what I wanted as a career by working infields that interested me. At the ripe age of 21, the world was my oyster. I worked as a real estate agent and took up part-time jobsin different areas. To fill my time, I worked as a secretary and translator for a small law practice, volunteered for an after-schoolprogram, and worked at a new restaurant. These jobs allowed me to understand the logistics of each field. It was my volunteer workat an after-school program that made me decide to go into education. I found satisfaction in working with the students and mycolleagues at the time. Now, narrowing it down to high school science is a whole other story!Alejandra: My interest in education and teaching began when I was 15 years old. I was a volunteer catechist for my parish andinstantly fell in love with teaching.6 Academics