Diana Gonzalez
"I love what I do and a lot of the time, it does not feel like work."
Diana is the Magnet Recruiting Counselor at East Career and Technical Academy. One of her job responsibilities includes recruiting middle school students by sharing information on the CTE programs and encouraging students to apply to programs that align with their interests and passions. A skill she utilizes on a daily basis is being bilingual, she helps various families in the Spanish-speaking community by providing information about ECTA and the programs it houses. Additionally, she provides educational outreach by providing information on resources that are available through the magnet department. Seeing students grow academically and professionally is a fulfilling part of her job. The highlight of what she does is watching her students walk across the stage and receive their diplomas because she knows she was a footprint in their lives. It reminds her of what she does and why she does it. Diana advises students to research and do interest inventories by looking at the information provided within different careers. She often tells them that there are things they do not realize they are great at or could be great at - that will help point them in a direction they might not be aware of. Diana wants students to take advantage of the opportunities given to them, be open to the help offered, and not be afraid to ask for help. She pushes them to self-advocate for themselves, a valuable tool students will need to succeed. Being able to work with students from all backgrounds is what Diana loves about her job, which is more important than making 6 figures. In life, money cannot always buy happiness, what matters is to find a career that brings you joy. She is grateful for the teachers and mentors who guided her because she would not be where she is without them. In her career, she aspires on a daily basis to be a mentor and resource for her students. Due to working at a large minority school, she does not want the students to feel limited because the sky is the limit. They can use what they learn within their 4 years of high school to break barriers through educational empowerment and outreach.
To her, community is all about supporting one another whether it is due to a need or a resource. Often, many families do not know how to proceed, where to go, or what questions to ask. Being able to support them and bridge that gap of uncertainty is most important. In recent years, the teacher shortage has made headlines in the United States. We have seen the negative effects it has had on students and their communities. Diana explains that we need to invest in our future and asks what exactly our future looks like when talking about underfunded schools and teacher shortages. “The future is students since we are training them and giving them knowledge so they can go out and replace us in the workforce as well as creating change but how do we do that without the proper staff?” She explains that while they do have resources such as material things, needing the proper staffing is crucial. She adds that student academic success is also nurtured by supporting staff, custodians, teacher's aids, bus drivers, etc. Aside from teacher shortages, another negative effect has been teacher burnout. People tend to forget that teachers teach because they love the idea of being able to grow, nurture, and encourage their kids. When teachers care about students, it completely transforms their academic experience, but who is caring about the teachers? Diana wraps up by saying, “When teachers are not focused on, they experience burnout and even superheroes get burnt out.”