Have you ever thought you had your whole life planned out since you were a child? I had my whole life planned out since I was about five years old. My goals consisted of attending The University of North Carolina (newsflash: I got waitlisted), becoming an elementary school teacher (I work at a high school), marrying the love of my life right after graduating college (we no longer speak), and moving back to my hometown to settle down and start a family (I stayed in Boone, NC postgrad). Well, I hate to break it to little five year old Alexandra, but none of our original goals came true. We decided to create different ones to pursue what we actually wanted. The whole being a teacher goal was due to the fact that my grandmother wanted my mother to become a teacher, but life happened and that dream was never fulfilled. So, my mother took it upon herself to convince me that I wanted to be a teacher. Growing up, I always heard “Wow, Alexandra you’re so patient with children” or “Alexandra, you are such a nurturing girl”. Fortunately enough for me, these two qualities are some of the most important ones teachers can and should possess. So that was it; my fate was sealed. I was “born” to be a teacher. But was I really?
As I continued on with my time at Chatham County Schools, I realized that so many of us (Hispanic students) deserved a teacher that looked like us. People who went through the same things we went through, who understood us. Add another pro to the “Why Alexandra Should Become a Teacher” checklist. Senior year of high school, I applied to the North Carolina Teaching Fellows not really thinking I would receive this scholarship. But, as luck would have it, I was a finalist for Special Education. It was truly such an honor to have gotten this scholarship, but I was at a crossroads. Everywhere I went I always heard, “Alex, be smart. This is such a prestigious scholarship, it’s an honor to be a finalist.” It truly was, I never in a million years would've guessed that me, Alexandra Ramirez Tinoco, a first-generation Mexican-American student would be named a finalist for the NC Teaching Fellows out of over 200 applicants. I had a tough decision to make: did I take this opportunity and attend a university I knew I would never be truly happy at or go to a little mountain school that was claimed to be First in Teaching? I think we know the answer, and it was possibly the best decision I have ever made (along with accepting this job).
My time at Appalachian State was the best. Though there were a couple of bumps in the road here and there, I wouldn’t trade my experience for the world. Senior year fall semester however, I was challenged with one of the most gut wrenching decisions I had to make. To be short and sweet, I was missing one prerequisite class before I could do my student teaching in the spring. I had to make the decision (within a week) if I wanted to continue down the path of being a Spanish Education major or switch over to just a Spanish major. If I continued with Education, I would have to graduate in the fall semester (one semester behind than anticipated). This was something that I did not want to do, so I changed my major to just Spanish. It was a very hard decision for me, and it felt like all that I had worked for and all of my goals were for nothing. I had no clue what to do, being a teacher had been the one thing I was sure of my whole life.
I started talking to a lot of different people, one of them being Adam Warren. We talked about how becoming a teacher can have many different paths. If I truly wanted to, I could always get my teaching license at some other time. But he also told me about the Appalachian College Advising Corps. He told me how this would be a great opportunity on how to help students not in a classroom setting. It really got me thinking about different opportunities on how to help students while also being ed-adjacent. I have learned (in this very short period of time) that things change, we are not the same people we used to be, and it is okay when your goals need to shift as you grow. Will I ever become a teacher? Who knows? What I do know is that I am so thankful for this opportunity that I have been given to serve at both Avery County High School and Marjorie Williams Academy. It is not where I planned to be, but where I needed to be.
Written by Alexandra Ramirez Tinoco, adviser at Avery County High School & Marjorie Williams Academy
Alex's first day of pre-k
Alex's high school internship
Alexandra Ramirez Tinoco, Adviser at Avery County High School & Marjorie Williams Academy
Alexandra Ramirez Tinoco, Adviser at Avery County High School & Marjorie Williams Academy