Several experiences in my life led me to the position I am so fortunate to have today—as teacher, leader, and advocate for students who are new to this country and face other challenges.
My family came from the Dominican Republic and Cuba. I was raised in public housing and entered an underserved school as an ESL student. Although we weren’t the wealthiest family, my parents worked hard, instilled in me a belief that this country provided opportunities for anyone, and offered me my own path forward. I had a chance to go to a four-year college—the first in my family.
I graduated in the midst of the great recession, but I was able to find work at the State of New Jersey in a union position that afforded me a reasonable wage, like my father. The union at his job insured his hard work would allow him to support his family, and he often credited the union’s organizing power with our ability to advance.
My experiences led me to teaching, where I believed I could have an impact on young lives—and I get to do that every day at Linden High School, where I teach ESL students. I also ran for congress in 2016, and although I lost in the primary, I value that experience for the lessons I learned about an often-flawed political system that, nonetheless, provides us a voice in our government.
It prompted me to move on to become more involved in my union, where we have made strides to improve the job security and wages of our members, and are striving to assure our curriculum speaks to all our students and accurately reflects the value of all cultures.
Now, having learned from these valuable experiences and being given this platform as a teacher and leader of my peers, I want to have an impact. I’m striving to inspire those students in my classroom, and I hope I can help build schools that teach them about the wonderful ways this country has been built by all types of people—many like them—and gives them the same opportunities I have had.
