For the past 30 years I have been blessed with two of the best life teachers - my dad and
my mom. Their patience, creativity, and "go for it" attitudes have served as models for me throughout my personal and professional life. It is because of them that I have taken challenges and sought out a career path that benefits me economically and emotionally. They were both professionals in the field of education as well. My dad taught Electrical Engineering at West Point Military Academy, and my mom was a registered nurse and school counselor at my high school.
I started high school in a public school of 500 students in New York, and halfway through we moved to California where my parents enrolled me into a private high school of 2000 students. I got exposure to two very different educational institutions with distinct student populations and instructional objectives. As an undergraduate at UCSD it was tough for me to decide on a major. I chose to study Cognitive Science because of the broad range of interesting topics that it covered. I got to learn about computer programming, psychology, and neuroscience - stuff that I enjoyed learning about. During my junior year, I studied in Costa Rica, taking classes in Spanish at the Universidad de Costa Rica in the capital city, San Jose. I loved the experience. My Spanish improved enormously and I began to admire the Latin American culture. I enjoyed it so much that upon my return to San Diego, I decided to pursue a second bachelor's degree in Latin American studies.
After graduation, I got a job with Accenture as an analyst in their Communications and High Tech offices in San Ramon, California. I learned everything I could as fast as I could- new software, new business processes, office lingo and acronyms. During my three years at Accenture, I worked on two small teams- one was software development and the other was application testing. I got exposure to project managment and team dynamics; I learned about resource allocation and training. More than anything else, I learned that I love technology. After my promotion to consultant, however, I began to re-evaluate my career goals and I decided that I had two passions that my career at Accenture would never bring me - speaking Spanish and teaching. WorldTeach would bring me both.
WorldTeach is a volunteer program that sends uncertified teachers out into the world to teach English. I submitted my application to teach English in Ecuador. It was a risk that was tough for me to take, but I'm so glad that I did. I taught adults mixed levels of English at a community 
college in the city of Manta, on the central coast of Ecuador. I found my teaching style, I made friends with locals, I fell in love, and I paid more for my cable Internet connection that I did for my rent. After two years teaching south of the equator, I knew it was time for me to begin looking for my next adventure. I found the Educational Technology (Edtec) program and took 540 at a distance while I was still living in paradise. I loved it, and I realized quickly that the program would satisfy my passion for education as well as my love for technology. I especially liked how both formal and informal learning were considered elements of an individual's education. I had just completed one of the greatest learning experiences of my life without a textbook or teacher.
Since starting Edtec, I've moved back to San Diego, and I'm now working as an Instructional Design Coordinator for San Diego Community College District in their Online Learning Pathways division. I'm fluent in Spanish and I'm now married to the Ecuadorian I fell in love with in Manta. We have begun building a family culture of our own that takes the best pieces of Ecuadorian culture and mixes them with North American. Every day is a learning experience and I look forward to someday passing along the same values of patience, creativity, and adventure that my parents passed on to me.