Third Generation

Sarina Castella
An educator is a very influential prospect in a child’s life, which is why I dream of becoming an educator

myself: to influence a child’s life for the better. Coming from two generations of teachers, being a teacher was

always an option. However, it had never been my prioritized choice until my eighth grade when I had the

opportunity to shadow my grandma’s bilingual education class. Observing how uniquely she interacted with her

students showed me exactly what I wanted to do with my life.

Since I was young, I’ve been so intrigued in learning about other cultures and have been a big supporter of

fighting against discrimination. I am a third generation Hispanic and see discrimination daily against my own family. My

grandpa is one of the biggest influences for me to go into ESL Elementary Teaching because he is the hardest working

person in my life and endlessly gives back to the community. He was forced to dropout of high school in order to work

to keep his family afloat and because of discrimination that he encountered. To know that people are so biased in their

opinion on a person solely on the color of another’s skin urkes me and makes my passion to help stop this

discrimination in elementary schools even stronger.

I am a strong fit for this career because I have a big heart, a determination to uplift others to learn, and an

ability to put myself in others shoes to understand a variety of cultural backgrounds. Qualities that stand out in

teachers that have set them apart are their sense of humor, approachableness, as well as their care for each

student individually. I yearn to fulfill these traits as sufficiently as they have. A good educator is able to roll with the

punches and adjust their schedules in and out of the classroom to unexpected occurrences as smoothly as

possible. I do this by constantly trying new things just to switch up my day to day schedule and, therefore, adjust to

that. I would be successful as an ESL teacher because of my love for kids and love for challenging myself to step

outside of the box that would transfer to my teaching strategies.

As said by Nancy Astor, “Real education should educate us out of self into something far finer-into a

selflessness which links us with all humanity”. Demolishing discrimination begins with the educators. As an ESL

Teacher, I would be the students’ biggest supporters as well as the one who keeps them accountable when it

comes to academics. My biggest priority would be to encourage them to better themselves in and outside of the

classroom. As an educator, an individual should not only teach, but learn from the students as they go along.