Juliana Chavez: 2016-2017 Mary Roosevelt Honor Scholarship in Teaching and Learning

At the 2016-2017 Master of Arts in Teaching Recognition Ceremony, Juliana Chavez was awarded a Mary Roosevelt Honor Scholarship in Teaching and Learning for excellence in academics, demonstrated leadership skills, and dedication to improving the lives and educational opportunities of students. Juliana is pursuing her MAT with a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential. Below, she shares her thoughts about her educational journey and her chosen career. 

October 2016

I am from Chatsworth, California. I always knew I wanted to pursue a career that involved helping people in some way. As a child, my friends and I would hold neighborhood bake sales to raise money for communities affected by tragedies such as 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia. Giving back felt rewarding on a deeper level, and I wanted to find a way to incorporate that into my career. 
 
After my first child development course in college, I knew that I wanted to work with children. I enjoyed seeing the wonder that children felt about the world, and I wanted to take part in teaching children about the world around them. In 2012 and 2015 I decided to gain experience as a teaching assistant, first at a public elementary school and later at a private elementary school. These experiences solidified my desire to teach because working with children, seeing their struggles, and helping them work through those struggles and progress was as rewarding as I knew it would be. 
 
When deciding where to go for my Master of Arts in Teaching, UCI was my first choice because the program and the advisors here seem to truly care about fostering dynamic and innovative teachers. UCI’s MAT program is designed to encourage future teachers to be active participants in improving the U.S. education system. I’m truly excited to begin my journey in this program. 

I have thoroughly enjoyed my college education thus far, and I want to teach my future students that learning can be exciting and it can unleash so many opportunities for them. I hope to be an advocate for more music and arts programs in public school because I believe these subjects are as enriching and vital as any of the core subjects. I hope to teach elementary school for a long time, but I also plan to teach at the college level one day.
 
Having a career in education is something I have wanted for a long time, and I’m so glad I have the opportunity to study something I love at UCI.  I’m so grateful to be receiving the Mary Roosevelt Scholarship in teaching and learning. Thank you for the encouragement and support!
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Mary Roosevelt and Juliana Chavez