Mother and daughter alumnae share a passion as bilingual educators

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AUGUST 21, 2020 — Like many families who immigrate to the U.S., the Macleod family was in search of a better life and a fresh start when they arrived more than 20 years ago.

Faced with financial barriers while living in Mexico, the family—made up of Robert and Esperanza Macleod ’06 and their children Karen and Malcolm—was determined to start fresh.

“When my parents decided to move to the U.S. it was because they had lost everything. My dad says it was the most embarrassing moment in his life because he had to go to my mom’s parents saying, ‘Hey, here is your daughter plus our kids. We can’t make ends meet, and I need to go to the U.S. and try to get some money,’” Karen Weinand ’11 said. “He moved to the U.S. and we were able to come a few months later.”

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“For me, it wasn’t just educating my students but giving them a safe environment to transform their lives.”

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However, after their move Esperanza Macleod found herself wanting to do something that could benefit her family and herself. She dreamed of attending college and pursuing an education she didn’t have access to in Mexico.

“When we decided to go to the U.S., at that time I was not a citizen, and my English was very basic,” Macleod said. “I realized that I needed to learn English because I needed to help my children with their assignments, so I decided to so I could go to college.”

Despite being faced with financial barriers and learning a new language, Esperanza earned a full scholarship to UTSA to study bilingual education.

“When my children were at school I was taking classes in the morning or online at night. That way I could help them be successful in their own assignments and extracurricular activities,” Macleod said. “It was a challenge, but it was beautiful because I love learning, and this is how they came to love teaching too.”

During her night classes and in the summer Macleod’s children sometimes accompanied her to the Downtown Campus, where they would take their book bags and entertain themselves in a playroom on campus.

“It was incredible to see her love and passion for learning,” Weinand said.

In 2006 at the age of 50, Macleod received a bachelor of arts in interdisciplinary studies and began teaching as an ESL and bilingual education teacher at an elementary school in San Antonio ISD. She eventually went on to teach at the middle school level as a teacher until 2012 before becoming a dean of instruction at Fort Worth ISD in 2013.

“With my husband’s support and my children when I was graduating in 2006, it was like fulfilling a dream,” Macleod said. “To be on that stage getting my degree—of course I was probably the oldest one on stage—but it was just a memorable moment all because of UTSA.”

Inspired by her mother’s story, Weinand started at UTSA the following year, in 2007, to pursue bilingual education as well.

“It got to the point—when I wanted to go to college—it was a no brainer after seeing my mom accomplish this. It was so clear for me after seeing my mom overcome all these obstacles,” Weinand said. “I remember when I was in early high school sitting in the back of my mom’s classroom and one of her professors, Dr. Milk [Robert Milk, a professor in the Department of Bicultural-Bilingual Studies], said ‘Are you going to want to be a teacher like your mom?’ And I was like, ‘No, absolutely not! I want to be a lawyer.’ Four years later I was sitting in his classroom.”

Weinand recalls her mom never giving up or complaining when she was striving for her degree.

“For her it was a great opportunity and she was so happy to be doing it. After seeing my mom teaching I knew that was what I wanted to do,” she said.

Once Weinand had earned her bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies she started her teaching career with Teach for America in 2011 as a bilingual teacher in Fort Worth.

The nonprofit organization strives to give every child an equal opportunity to an education. Those who join the organization as educators make a two-year commitment to teach in a high-need area in a community impacted by poverty.

During that two-year commitment, members of the Teach for America corps go through additional training and coaching to help with their teaching careers.

“When I started doing it, a lot of people were like, ‘Why are you doing Teach for America if you’re already certified in teaching? Why are you going to do another two-year thing?” Weinand said. “But my mom told me that just because it’s my first year teaching, it’s not the kids’ first year in school. So the more you can help develop yourself the better it will be. It was my mom who really encouraged me to apply for Teach for America and I’m glad I did.”

Teach for America allowed her to have more practice and training when it came to her first full year of teaching, Weinand said. Nine years after becoming a corps member, Weinand now coaches new teachers as a manager of teacher leadership and development for Teach for America.

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For both Weinand and Macleod, being an educator has been more than just teaching students academically.

“I’ve received phone calls from a lot of my former students who are studying nursing or just married,” Macleod said. “It’s beautiful. It’s amazing to see them become successful. For me, it wasn’t just educating my students but giving them a safe environment to transform their lives.”

Weinand added that it is an honor to have the trust of the families to teach their kids.

“It’s an incredibly important role that educators have. It has truly been a privilege to teach every child I’ve been able to teach,” she said. “My first year of teaching I taught fourth grade and moved up with them during their fifth-grade year. Now that group of students just graduated high school this year.”

— Valerie Bustamante

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