I believe that pedagogy is one of my missions in my call as an agent of hope in this world. Being the first of a family of ten to attend college and pursue higher education has been challenging and rewarding.  My specialty is psychoeducation, trauma, and mental health. I am committed to sharing with others my expertise in higher education. My hope is to enlighten and inspire others to develop a passion for their own mission as social workers and psychotherapists in higher education. Encouraging the students to follow their hearts and trust the Lord’s guidance would give me the honor of being a participant in the construction of God’s kingdom in this world. 

My goal for student learning is to focus on practicing student-centered education. This will allow me to develop more strategies to help students to develop new skills according to the class requirements and goals. It is important to keep in mind the student’s needs and limitations and be sensible of their personal needs and challenges. I want to prepare students to be capable of changing their environment with their strengths and weaknesses, even with their wounds. Courage and resilience are important skills in their journey.

Some of the teaching methods I am interested in using with students include the use of all the methods learned, but some are more impactful and newer for me as journaling, technology, and role-playing. The use of technology in pedagogy practice is crucial to deliver knowledge to this generation (Koehler, et al., 2004). The great challenge we face when teaching higher education programs includes the lack of technology use skills. New generations of students are highly technologically skilled. As teachers, we need to be capable of using technological resources in the classroom.

My goals in the learning environment are focused on the student’s perceptions of identities as race, gender, background, experience, and levels of privilege affect the classroom. As an immigrant, I value the effort given by the student’s learning styles and perspectives into teaching, even their limitations on the language and cultural background. Diversity is one of my basic values.

In summary, as an immigrant Hispanic individual and a woman, I am a minority at a higher education level. The challenges to practicing pedagogy are several, but the advantages of knowing the different cultural, social, emotional, and racial challenges are very edifying. This knowledge gives me the certainty of accomplishing my call to fulfill my mission in life as an immigrant woman wanting to impact our society and encourage for myself.