This blog was written by teacher Jessy Molina.
She worked as an English teacher and CREE asistant.
We are the outcome of our past, we leave a legacy for those who come behind and that’s what I want to, here I retell a memorable chapter in my life which has led me to grow both as a professional and a person, it also helped me to discover who I am.
“A job is not just a job, it’s who you are”, (Jude Law). I have few memories of myself as a kid, but as the years passed, I became an English teacher. Before I graduated from college, I had my first job as a preschool assistant, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Then I had other jobs which I liked not as much as the first one. I always found something that did not fulfill my expectations. However, in 2019 while I was working in an English Language Academy, I received another job offer. In the beginning, I was not sure about it; my family did not agree. I ended up accepting the job which I don’t regret, not even for a second. Getting a new job allowed me to learn more about several things. I met wonderful people, and I enjoyed doing what I love.
Moving to Camasca provided me with a unique opportunity to learn about things I didn’t know I loved doing. I thought the Bilingual School was like any other normal school I had worked at before; how wrong I was to think that way. This school became my dream place to work because I realized I had so many resources to teach, many ways to lead students into the reading world, and doing different activities; it was amazing. One of the resources I knew about when I started teaching was “Kolibri”, a learning platform that helps both teachers and students to have a better teaching-learning process. I had no idea this platform existed, not even that it could be used without an internet connection. I took advantage of that platform as much as I could. Another interesting thing I found out about this nice school was that the kids had the opportunity to learn about robotics. So, I wanted to take part in everything with my students. I did several activities taking advantage of all the resources I was given, for my students’ sake. Also, I had the opportunity to get involved in the First Global competition, which is an annual competition; this promotes STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education for youth. I became one of the mentors for the Honduran team. I love technology and everything it involves; however, I had no idea how I was going to help the students throughout this competition. It was a worldwide competition in which the teams had to overcome three challenges. Soon, I realized the competition was beyond completing tasks, I also learned we can come up with solutions for the many problems our world faces, but we need to inspire our youth, make them believe, they are valuable. and their little actions matter a lot. For me, this job represents an infinite pool of knowledge because there are many things, we can do to help others, and also, we are nurturing our skills and comprehension.
Working here gave me the valuable opportunity of meeting awesome people. I already knew Yanny, she was my friend and classmate when I was in college, so she made me feel like I belonged here, I know she will be there for me anytime I need her help. On the other hand, I met Nely, who is the kindest person I have ever known; she is brave, clever, original, determined, loyal, and energetic humble she has a strong mindset. She never gives up on anything, not even when everything is against her, she tries on and on, until she gets what she wants. I regret not getting to know her before because she became a great friend. I know I can trust her with anything. Then, there is Minsis. I had met her before, but I didn’t have the chance of getting to know who she was; she is so sweet, her smile lights up everything. She has a full dictionary with encouraging and beautiful words, oh God, how much I adore her. I learned from her that you have to be humble and loyal to who you are, not letting others take you down. She is so polite, loving, brave, considerate, intelligent, warm-hearted, friendly, and gentle. As well, I met Edel, as his friends call him. He is one of the best people I have ever met. He is loyal, kind, nice, at first sight, he seems like a serious person, one of those that you want to cross, but when you get to know him, you realize he is beyond intelligent, confident, passionate about his job, he is caring and he has a great sense of humor; whenever he is near, he makes you laugh. He sees greatness in everything and values your work. He does not only care about your job performance, but he also cares about the person who you are inside, and if he has to push you to make you feel you are worthy without a doubt, he would do it. Besides, he is a good chess player, sadly, he never lets me win. These amazing human beings made me enjoy my job, and I feel like a valuable person; my voice is heard and my opinion matters. So, they will be in my heart forever and ever
Throughout all the time, I have been working with Shoulder to Shoulder, I found out there are many other things I love doing. One of my favorite things was working on the First Global competition because despite everything I got a great amount of knowledge, also I had the opportunity to meet other people, not only from Camasca but also from other countries. I love learning about other cultures and how their lives are both similar and different to ours. At the same time, I had to teach English to seventh and eighth grade; when I started, I was full of expectations, there were many things I wish to do to help them practice their English, not everything got as I planned but I did my best. Sometimes, students don’t behave as we would like to, but they fill your heart with joy. Moreover, another responsibility was to create interactive exercises for Kolibri, I like it because it helps both students and teachers to create a different style of learning; using Kolibri students get motivated and enjoy more, that’s why creating more resources for them was satisfying. As Martin Luther said; “Somewhere along the way, we must learn the there is nothing greater than to do something for others”. This is the reason why I most love working with Shoulder to Shoulder; they help others, they create opportunities for kids who don’t have the money to get a better education
In the picture, Jessy's farewell dinner with Shoulder to shoulder and Bilingual School's staff
In 2020 the Covid-19 Pandemic burst out and our lives have changed since then, our plans went down. Even though we have not overcome the Pandemic, we have improved and we are still trying to do the best we can. Therefore, working in Camasca with Shoulder to Shoulder has been a great experience, full of challenges that have shown me I am capable of doing anything I want to. I will treasure the memories I made here because I am thankful for the opportunity I was given. I thank you deeply for all the support I receive from you guys and for always cheering me up. Thanks, Shoulder to Shoulder for all the lessons you have taught me. I am leaving this place wiser than I was before, and my heart is full of joy and gratitude.
