After many years of hard work, I am a graduate student in UC Santa Barbara’s Teacher Education Program. I became the first in my family to attend a four-year university and earn my bachelor’s degree, and now I am part of a highly recognized graduate program at the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education.
Because of the incredible opportunity I’ve been given through the Community Fellows Fund, I am now one step closer to fulfilling my dream of becoming a teacher.
Teaching is an art that many people don’t fully understand. Children spend most of their lives in school, surrounded by teachers and staff who work every day to provide a safe and nurturing environment. Teachers build communities in their classrooms so that families feel welcomed, supported, and loved. This is what I experienced growing up in Santa Barbara, and that is exactly what I hope to bring into my own classroom as I begin my career here.
On a recent morning, I woke up to a message that said there had been ICE activity in the neighborhood surrounding the school where I was teaching. The moment I read it, I felt anxiety rush through my body and pressure in my chest. As I got ready that morning, my mind was filled with questions and worry. But more than anything, I kept thinking about my 1st-grade students … and the fear their families might have been feeling.
Every day, I greet my students with a hug as they enter the classroom. I smile as they walk up the ramp, hang their backpacks, and come up to me while I say, “¡Buenos días!” I get to meet the parents who drop their children off at school because they trust that schools are safe spaces — places where their children will learn, connect with friends, and simply get to be kids. That morning, I stood at the door waiting for students to arrive, but I carried the weight of that email with me. I kept thinking: “Will anyone come today? Are my students and their families safe?”
By 8 a.m., only 10 students out of 23 in my class were there. Every morning, we begin the day with the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States flag. As I recited the words: “Juro fidelidad a la bandera de los Estados Unidos de América” (“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America”), I heard car horns, megaphones, and people shouting outside: “ICE is here! Don’t come out!” I continued, “…con libertad y justicia para todos” (“with liberty and justice for all”).
In that moment, I felt the weight of what was happening outside our classroom doors. I had never experienced something like that before. And all I could do was continue our routine, keep my voice calm, and keep a smile on my face, because my students needed me to be steady, even when my community was hurting.
While teaching is not easy, the truth is that teachers give their hearts to this work. They show up for their children every day. They protect them, guide them, and care for them in ways that go far beyond academics. My greatest hope is that one day my classroom will always feel like a safe space, a place where students can learn without fear, without anxiety, and without the threat of being separated from the people they love most.I stand in solidarity with my community, with the families impacted all across the country, and with every student who deserves to feel safe in the place where they are supposed to grow. I hope we all take a moment to recognize what is happening, and remember: We can only fight injustice when we stand together.
