Elizabeth Madrigal
Take the LACTE Challenge and Just Do It!
My involvement in LACTE has been active since I became a member during my sophomore year. Attending meetings and applying for the LACTE scholarship were only the beginning of my participation in the program. I became a California Museum of Science and Industry (CMSI) Summer Science Workshops intern the summer of 1996. There I was involved in helping teachers with elementary and middle schoolstudents. My responsibility was to help prepare the lessons and then teach the second class session. It was a great teaching opportunity and learning experience. It helped me realize that teaching encompasses a lot more work than what many people seem to think. I have also been a participant in the Santa Monica Student Symposium since its first year. The workshops there were very interesting and informational. My participation in the 1997 LACTMA student poster session was a very rewarding gathering. The many presentations and field tripssponsored by LACTEhave proven to be very beneficial to me as I approach the beginning of my teaching career. My best experience so far has been theCalifornia Mathematics Council conference in Palm Springs lastNovember. It has helped to see how important attendance to such events is in order to be a good and successful teacher.
LACTE has become a very vital part of my education at LMU. First of all, because my involvement in LACTE has helped me to expand my knowledge of teaching and all that it entails. I have learned many valuable ideas and gained many experiences that will help me to be the good teacher everyone wants to be. Secondly, because LACTE has given me appreciable financial support. The scholarships that LACTE donated to me were a great contribution to the funding of my education. LACTE has provided me with an opportunity which I wasfortunate to have.
Before I became a math major, I had never thought I would choose teaching as my profession, although the majorityof my extracurricular activities were in the educational field. I remember my guy best friend teasing me in high school by tellingme that I was going to be a math teacher just like our teacherbecause I was always tutoring and helping my friends with their math homework. All I would say was that there was no way that would ever be. Now, I just hope that I will a better teacher than any of my math teachers. I decided to become a teacher because I have always enjoyed helping others. I figured there was no better way of doing this than becoming a teacher and educating tomorrows leaders. Besides, I realized that there is an immense need for great math teachers. LACTE has increased my belief that teaching is the best career choice I could have made. LACTE is a wonderful support group for all those of us who want to join the teaching profession. I accepted LACTE as the wonderful mentor that it is. I invite everyone who wants to teach to take the LACTE challenge and just do it!