AUTOBIOGRAPHY . . . .what he was most passionate about; teaching, working with others, and making a difference. PROFESSOR ALCINDO MEDEIROS TEC DE MONTERREY CAMPUS AGUASCALIENTES “My father didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.” Clarence B. Kelland quotes (American Writer, 1881-1964) Ola! My name is Alcindo Medeiros. Let me share with you a little story about myself… Once upon a time, there was a young man and a woman who decided to leave everything behind in Portugal in search of a better life in the enchanted land called Canada. Once arriving there, they would soon begin to settle down, find work and shelter because the woman, my Mother, was already expecting a child. And so, on December 8th, 1971, their little daughter was born. They named her Lucy. She was their pride and joy. But, as happy as they could be, they wanted a bigger family. In knowing so, little Alcindo came along on July 4th, 1973, and later, Johnny on November 14th, 1974. Both parents worked hard raising them amongst this melting pot of strangers in this strange, yet fascinating land, holding and instilling strong traditional Portuguese values, beliefs, and customs. As time went on, both Lucy and Johnny started a family of their own. Alcindo was just finishing up his studies, when he decided to take the risk, as had been done by his fellow parents. And so, he packed and headed down to Mexico. In arriving to this new place, he soon fell in love and started a life of his own. It was soon that Alcindo would receive news of his becoming a father. He became a dad to his first born, Isabella, his first real love. It was no sooner that he would be struck with other news. He would be father for the second time, but this time, to a baby boy. Similarly, he received his bundle of love, Diego, with much warmth, love, and care. However, being a father for the second time meant more. Alcindo needed to do more. He needed to pursue his studies if he wished to financially maintain his family. And so, he began to enrich his skills and immerse himself in what he loved and in what he was most passionate about ; teaching, working with others, and making a difference. Consequently, he met a great woman named Adriana Alcala, Academic Director at Teachers College, who orientated him in the right path. To do so, he needed determination, self responsibility, and hard work. He did so, yet simultaneously trying to do his job at the TEC de Monterrey, Campus Aguascalientes, where he has worked for many years. Was it hard for him? Did he survive? Of course. Today, Alcindo continues to study hard in the required thesis to complete his Master’s Degree Program with Teachers College Mexico City in hopes of concluding his studies soon. He is currently surrounded by family and friends who love him very much. He continues to strive for excellence in hopes of a bigger, brighter future for him and his most loved ones, Isabella and Diego. Thank you for reading this short story of my life. . . up to now. AUTOBIOGRAPHY Brenda Oyanguren Mendoza Honorable Mention Hello, Readers, I would like to tell you about myself. I was born in Mexico City, and I have lived in Mexico my whole life. I have always enjoyed reading; consequently, I studied “Lengua y Literaturas Españolas, at the Facultad de Filosofía y Letras”, UNAM. My first teaching experience was in a high school. There I taught Latin-American Literature, and it was an amazing experience. Later on, I worked for IBI Culture and Communication where I was given the chance to develop teaching strategies, and I was also able to interact with people from different countries and diverse cultures. At that time I was a Spanish teacher, but eventually, I became both Spanish and English teacher. I have great memories from that period. In 2003, my first son was born, and I became a full-time mom. But, in 2005, when my he started Kindergarten, I opened a café right next to his school. Although it was a totally different activity, it brought huge satisfactions to my life. Running a business of my own has been very challenging and gratifying. I was able to meet many people and make very good friends; I actually met my best friends in the café, so working every day was very pleasurable and relaxing. About a year ago, I closed the café due to the fact that I became a mother again. Last June, I was offered work at the Instituto Harvard as an English elementary school teacher, but even though I had taught English for many years, I did not have a Teacher’s Certification and I needed it in order to get the job. I was encouraged then by my friends, Kirsten and Beca, to earn the diploma and to accept the job offer. Then I contacted Adriana Alcalá, the Academic Director at Teachers College Mexico City and started studying for my Teachers TESOL final examination. It is to be said that this achievement would have been impossible without my family´s support and understanding, and without the countless hours of study sessions with Kirsten and Beca, who were always by my side. This was a whole team success. Thank you all. I would also like to thank Teachers College Mexico City for all their help and support. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity of becoming a better teacher and therefore, a better person. I do believe in the enormous responsibility of teaching as a commitment with values and with the highest internal quality of standards of development. Thank you for taking the time to read about me. Brenda Oyanguren M. AUTOBIOGRAPHY Fernando Isaac Rodriguez Ortíz I hope that one day I can have my own English school next to my legal firm. But something I will forever do, even after I retire, is teach English.. It all started in the year 1992 when I traveled for the first time to the United States. I went by myself to California where my cousin was already waiting for me. Those vacations were great. I visited so many places that to this day I still get excited just remembering. The pace of life was great; I loved it there. I noticed, on the one hand, that most Americans were being very rude to Latin tourists because they weren’t able to make themselves understood. I remember they repeatedly refused to speak any language other than English. On the other hand, I noticed that people from other countries were always carrying their dictionaries and trying to make themselves understood with the little English they could use. And it was this observation that changed my life. The trip was over, so I had to return to Mexico. Before even getting home, I was already planning on how to continue with my own mastery of English and planning on how to teach others the language as well. A month later I was ready to go back to California. I went back to Santa Clara to study and to learn English well. I studied at Wilcox High School where my freshmen year was mostly English classes, all of them ESL. After my sophomore year, I was taking regular subjects such as biography, history, algebra, etc. My English knowledge was improving rapidly. In 1996 I graduated from high school and went back to Mexico. I wanted to start teaching right away but I was faced with a big problem. The day I was taking my education documents for a notarized translation, I got mugged by a thief who stole my backpack and didn’t let me get my documents back. I spent almost a year trying to get my documents back but my visa had expired. I didn’t have money to get another visa. There was a crisis in Mexico and my parents didn’t have a job at that time so what I did was to look for a job and do high school once again in Mexico. Companies didn’t want to hire me because of my lack of experience although they always said my English skills were excellent but that I had no teaching experience. Then CAPSA, a small school on Insurgentes gave me an opportunity. I wasn’t making a lot of money but I was getting the experience I needed. In 1999, the school decided to lay off all the teachers without a certification and keep only the ones that were certified. I had to leave the company but I couldn’t take a teacher’s course because I didn’t have a high school degree yet. (a high school diploma is not required at Teachers College Mexico City for the Teachers Certification) That same year I got a job as a clerk at Ford Motor Company. During this period a lot of things happened. I couldn’t teach English professionally but I was still teaching my friends and relatives during weekends. I got married and moved out to begin a new life with my wife. In the year 2000, my little girl was born and I got promoted to an audit position in the company, both situations required that I stop teaching for a while. In 2002, I once again graduated from high school but the company decided to try out outsourcing and hired an auditing firm to do the job I had been doing and consequently my area disappeared so I was fired again. I tried to get back to teaching but schools and language centers didn’t hire me because I didn’t have any recent teaching experience. I survived those years doing translations and helping others with their English homework or with exam preparation, charging them about $50 (pesos) an hour. In the year 2003 I met my biological father whom I had never met before, and he asked for a chance to help me out and offered to pay my major. I accepted of course and started to attend the university at the UNITEC in Mexico City. I wanted to be a lawyer just like him but I didn’t want to leave the teaching career. I thought it could be good to combine both activities. There is not always a case to work with, and there aren’t always students who are able to learn English. He also gave me the opportunity of working with him in his legal firm and in return I was helping him practice English. In 2005 He got a position with the Government of the State of Mexico and left the litigation cases to a colleague and helped me get a position in the Municipal Government of Tlalnepantla. Unfortunately, he couldn’t continue paying my major because of his current family commitments and I tried to do it by myself but I couldn’t; so I had to drop out of the university. In 2008, there were Municipal Government elections and they had to fire a lot of people and once again, my name was on the list. Tired of not reaching my objectives, I traveled to Montreal, Canada to try something new, a new job, a new life and take my family with me. I spent time there working in a chicken processing company during the winter, but being away from my wife and daughter didn´t feel good. One of those days I decided to go back to Mexico City. When I went to buy the plane ticket, I saw an ad outside a Berlitz Language Center in front of the Metro Station and walked in. I wanted to get back to the teaching career. When I was interviewed by the recruiter, he reminded me that even if selected, I wouldn’t be able to work right away because of the migration documents required to be able to work in that country. But he mentioned that there were Berlitz schools in Mexico also, and I could have better opportunities there with my language and teaching skills. I finally got back to Mexico City, back with my family. Then I searched Berlitz Mexico on the internet and also found a link to their hiring positions. I sent my resume as indicated and a few days later, someone called from Berlitz to tell me they received my resume and were interested but the newcomers training had already started, so they kept me on the waiting list for about six months. During those six months, I worked as a salesperson at ACCO (American Clip Company) in Mexico City. They needed someone who spoke English, but during the whole time I was there, I never had to use my English knowledge. Six months later, the person from Berlitz Mexico sent me an e-mail inquiring if I was still interested in the teaching position. I called and made an appointment to take an exam and to talk to a different recruiter from the one I had spoken to before. I was hired by Berlitz as an English teacher and sent to the UNITEC Campus at Ecatepec. As time went by, I taught in Ecatepec and the Atizapán Campus, as well as at the Lindavista and Satélite Language Centers. Taking advantage of already being professionally hired in a teaching position, I didn’t want to waste more time and spoke to my cousin who had previously graduated from Teachers College Mexico City. I enrolled at the College to obtain my Teachers Diploma and Certification. Now, after all, I can continue the path I truly wanted since I was younger. Nowadays, I plan to continue teaching English and majoring in law. I hope that one day I can have my own English school right next to my legal firm. But something I will forever do, even after I retire, is teach English. Thank you for reading my autobiography. Warm regards, Fernando Isaac COPYRIGHT 2011 TEACHERS COLLEGE MEXICO CITY CAPULINES NO. 41 APARTADO POSTAL 92 NAUCALPAN, EDO. DE MÉXICO 53240 |
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