I’ve never been good at writing about myself. Summarizing all the work I accomplished throughout my time at Everett Community College and the University of Washington Bothell is daunting. To talk about my growth in college, I must be able to look outside of myself and differentiate between fact and opinion; it is a process that takes time and focus as one has to take a careful look at the past and judge oneself without bias. However, as I reach the conclusion of my undergraduate journey, tasked to create a portfolio of all my work, I can’t help but look at my previous assignments and notice how much I have evolved through the years. While I always considered myself a good writer, it is shocking to see how different my writing was from when I first entered college compared to some of my more recent works. It’s almost a surreal experience as I can see physical proof of my change through my writing, seeing how the knowledge and experience I gained affected my work.
My goal of becoming a teacher was one of the forces that drove me through college, guiding my class choices and writing. When looking at my teaching artifacts from when I went to the Everett Community project, it is interesting to see how little I knew about teaching and education. I was somewhat naïve back then, creating simple works like my lesson plan, "The Effects of Guilt and Grief Objectives and Rationale.” But despite that, every step I took gave me more knowledge. While I am almost embarrassed at the lack of more significant thought that lesson plan had, it served as the building block for the other lesson plans I have created, such as “Amado’s Teaching Portfolio” and “GWG Lesson Plan.” As time passed, I learned more about the complexity of teaching and the struggles they often face, as throughout my time at UW Bothell, I learned in the classroom and through real-life experiences.
Out of all the volunteer and job experience I have gained after my initial high school graduation, the most impactful was the work I did for the Ell program at Monroe Foothills church, a budding program I helped create in 2023. As the only aspiring teacher who was also bilingual, I was thrown into the deep end, forced to take an administrative role for which I was not trained, and given only one mission: figure out the best way to teach English. While some would have wavered with how little time and resources I was given, I remained firm, focusing on the task I was given and completing it to the best of my ability. Sure, I made many mistakes, and I won’t say that the thought of quitting wasn’t tempting, as there were days when the stress almost overwhelmed me. This experience could have been an experience that drove me away from teaching. Yet, thanks to the school IAS and what I learned throughout my time at UW Bothell, I had the critical skills and knowledge necessary to adjust to this unique situation, which allowed me the chance to learn from this and prepare for my career in teaching.
Of the components that make the acronym IAS (Interdisciplinary, Arts, and Sciences), Interdisciplinary is the most important as it demonstrates what makes this school unique. Inter, meaning between, and discipline, defined as a branch of knowledge. Being interdisciplinary means not allowing yourself to be tethered by one school of thought, instead using the flexibility necessary to handle complex problems by looking at them from multiple perspectives. While those who try to be interdisciplinary might not master a single discipline, I have learned there is value in having a little knowledge in many disciplines. When I first transferred to UW Bothell in the spring of 2022, I had no clue what the word Interdisciplinary meant, much less its value, nor did I see the impact this single word would have on me. During registration, I wasn’t given an option of majors I could choose from; all I did was ask to major in English, and they placed me in the school of IAS with no context for what it represented. As I continued my education and slowly learned the meaning of interdisciplinary, I started to gain an appreciation and awe for this concept. Looking back and seeing how much my mentality has shifted by this surprisingly simple concept, I am thankful that I found a school that encouraged this mindset set, and when I begin teaching, I hope that I can pass on this way of thinking. The world is a large place full of complex issues that require innovative and creative approaches, which are best achieved when incorporating more than one discipline.
As an IAS student, I was required to meet these five core learning objectives: critical and creative thinking, interdisciplinary research and inquiry, writing and communication, collaboration and shared leadership, and diversity and equity. I have successfully met these objectives throughout my education. To me, each objective is essential, as while they might have some overlap, they all capture each aspect of what it means to be an interdisciplinary person, from how they think and act. Some, like ‘writing and communication,’ I found easy to learn, while others, ‘collaboration and shared leadership,’ took longer to achieve. However, as I reached the end of my four-year degree, I can say with full confidence that I have learned the skills that the school of IAS wanted to teach me, demonstrated through the work I have completed. These are not simply learning objectives but values I will carry with me long after my journey at the University of Washington Bothell.
I once had a professor who told me as a college student, “I should take everything that isn’t nailed down,” and while I, unfortunately, wasn’t able to take full advantage of the resources given to me, nor go to many of the events. If all I could take were these objectives, I would say with complete confidence that my time at college was well worth it. I am thankful for the guidance and support that has enabled me to achieve these objectives. When graduation first popped onto my radar, all I could see was how much further I had to go before becoming a teacher. Creating this portfolio forced me to look back and see how far I have come, as I not only saw how I changed at the academic level but also how much I have grown as an individual. I am not the same person I was when I first arrived at UW Bothell. I have learned and experienced so much, and I hope that as a teacher, I will be able to show my students these values of IAS, planting the seeds that will help the next generation flourish.