My name is Lourdes Valencia. I am a 31 year old31-year-old mother of three. Married to an Army veteran who is now a clinician at our local jail. Growing up I was number 10 of 11 kids. School was never really enforced. My parents were farm laborers who were both born and raised in Mexico. Work was valued over education because we could contribute. My greatest strengths would be my patience and ability to care for my family, however my weakness is my attitude and motivation towards continuing my education.
My schooling in the past prior to GCU include attending several colleges, however, not seeing a program through. I enjoyed the thought of going back to school for self-improvement, however once it got down to doing the work and having to commit time to read and write, I would find a reason not to do it or distract myself. I would say my favorite teacher would have to be my husband. He is not a teacher by trade, but his day-to-day actions are inspiring. When he was honorably discharged from the US Army in 2012, he was uneducated and determined to provide a better life for his family. Now he has his master’s and is currently working on a doctorate, all while working a full-time job and supporting us financially and whatever activities we try to pursue with encouragement. The biggest thing I expect to gain from attending GCU is to find the motivation my husband found in pursuing and completing my education.
My academic goal is to take one step at a time. I must use the SMART method when doing these goals because if I am too hard on myself or make some that are not realistic, it will be demoralize me and I will give up. By taking it one step at a time I can learn to appreciate each step as a success and acknowledge that it is one step closer that I did not have before. I expect once I graduate to pursue a career in education in hopes that my story inspires hope in others and teach them that regardless of your background or past, if you have hope and want to invest in yourself or career capital as my husband says it, there is no stopping you. I know it sounds cliché to say, however, I feel in my case its true. Salary expectations are not too high. I know teachers do not get paid very well, it’sit is the self-reward of making a difference in children’s lives. I hope that with this new knowledge I acquire in the classroom it may help me communicate with my husband better and we can be better parents for our boys and role models.
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The planned profession I intend to pursue, there are not manyfew people I know. The qualities that I admire from my son’s teachers are the patience and the genuine love I can see in their eyes. My son comes home everyday excited about what was done and what he learned from school. I hope that I can have that effect on other’s children. I want my students to fall in love with education and not let anyone take that from them. I want them to have a self-value and feel that they are worthy to continue to invest in themselves and improve daily and never stop learning regardless if its in the classroom or not and to keep an open-mind and open heart. I would define my success by having my students continue to see me and thank me for the time in my class. I don’tdo not think test scores can put a value on how much a simple thank you from a child would do to me.
