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Making a Decision About College Interactive Case: Meet Linda Ruiz, Biology Teacher     

“What I have come to realize is that college is important for the learning that occurs in the classroom, but equally important is the learning that happens outside of the classroom. You can't buy experience. I hope that Marisela will have that opportunity.”


“Marisela is special. Not too many girls are interested in the sciences and the fact that Marisela excels in them is wonderful. I can see her going really far in life. The sky's the limit. I also have a lot of respect for the additional responsibility that she takes on at her age. It's not easy having to juggle challenging schoolwork with a part-time job and taking care of younger siblings. Frankly, I don't know how she does it or where she finds the energy.”

Linda has been teaching for three years and also is a first-generation college graduate. She sees a lot of herself in Marisela and hopes that Marisela won't be held back by her family responsibilities. Linda, too, had an aptitude for the sciences when she was young and aspired to be a doctor. She had a hard time convincing her parents that she should go away for college. She ended up having to strike a deal with them by attending a community college for the first two years before she could go “away” to college. Though she eventually earned her bachelor of science, she feels that she would have gone farther in her career had she gone away to college right after high school.

“It's just not the same living at home and going to college, especially in the beginning. Freshman year is when you build social networks and become part of the college community. I'm not saying that I wasn't able to find my niche once I transferred from the community college, but I do know that it was a little bit harder. There are experiences living at college that you can't replicate being at home. What I have come to realize is that college is important for the learning that occurs in the classroom, but equally important is the learning that happens outside of the classroom. You can't buy experience. I hope that Marisela will have that opportunity.”

Next, complete three short reflection questions and click "done" to gain additional insights. Please note: Once you click "done" your responses are no longer retrievable.You may want to copy and paste your responses into a word document.

 

Marisela, high school senior
Marisela's mother Biology teacher Up next ->
Guidance Counselor Supporting data University
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Piecing it all together

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