MAY 6, 2024 — Ayleen González’s childhood dream was to be an educator — like her mom, who served as a source of inspiration for her journey into teaching.
“As a little girl, my mom always inspired me to be an educator and to continue helping other students,” González said. Her mother, Ariana, is a teacher at Vineyard Ranch Elementary in the North East Independent School District.
Combine that inspiration with González’s strong attachment to San Antonio, a desire to remain close to her family and her recognition of UTSA’s reputation for preparing educators of the highest standard and González was on the inevitable path to become a Roadrunner.
She will graduate this spring from the UTSA College of Education and Human Development (COEHD) with her B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies EC-6, with a Bilingual Education Supplemental Certification.
Last August, González began her clinical teaching residency at the Irving Dual Language Academy in the San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD) as a third-grade bilingual teacher. She has since accepted a full-time teaching position at the academy.
As she begins the next phase in her teaching journey, González credits UTSA for impacting her future education and career choices. She is especially grateful for the role that the university’s residency program played in preparing her to become a teacher.
“I had a mentor teacher from the beginning of the year who I was able to go to for professional development,” González said. “My mentor guided me through setting up the classroom and setting expectations from the beginning of the year. This is going to help me as a first-year teacher, because I already have the sense of routine and procedures that I need to implement to have a successful year.”
UTSA’s coursework also prepared González for current classroom practices. A crucial part of becoming a teacher involves passing the certification tests. UTSA provided the support González needed to earn her teaching certifications while pursuing her degree.
Key to González’s preparation was COEHD’s Signature Residency Model, which provides cohorts of teaching candidates more opportunities to teach, learn and interact with students, fellow teachers and administrators. The goal is to ensure these future teachers are ready to lead their own classrooms come the first day of school.
“Along with the degree I have, as a bilingual educator, I had five certification tests,” González explained. “UTSA offers practice exams and study sessions for us to get that degree. The Academy of Teacher Excellence (ATE) and the workshops provided by UTSA have supported and prepared me for the challenges and requirements needed to be an educator.”
González recently had the opportunity to speak about the clinical residency program with members of Texas Strategic Staffing, which works to develop high-quality teacher residencies for the schools within Region 13 of the state’s Education Service Center. The panel wanted to learn more about the program from González, in hopes of introducing similar initiatives in their own districts or universities.
González is considering a master’s degree in the future, but right now she’s looking forward to continuing at Irving Dual Language Academy and having the opportunity to lead in the classroom.
“I am excited to move on to the next chapter of my life,” she said, “and to have the independence of being in my own classroom.”
UTSA Today is produced by University Communications and Marketing, the official news source of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Send your feedback to news@utsa.edu. Keep up-to-date on UTSA news by visiting UTSA Today. Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram.
Finalist candidates for the dean of the College of the Sciences will discuss their vision for the college.
Assembly Room, JPL 4.04.22, Main CampusIn this hands-on workshop, you’ll learn how to use AI to make your voice recordings sound professional, edit with easy text-based editing, and create high-quality recordings with royalty-free music, so you can focus on your story. You will also plan your own mini-podcast during the session.
Academic Innovation Center (MS 420)Have questions about making your OER accessible on UTSA Pressbooks? The OER Team and the Digital Accessibility Team are ready to answer them! Bring your questions about OER and accessibility and receive guidance from our two teams.
Virtual EventUpon completion of this workshop, attendees will be able to: explain the history of Creative Commons, summarize the role of copyright law in the creation of Creative Commons, differentiate between different CC icons, identify the different layers and elements of CC licenses and tools, and list factors to consider when choosing a license for your project.
Virtual EventJoin UTSA Librarians for this introductory workshop for early career faculty on how to build your online scholarly identity. We will discuss how to set up author profiles as well as find existing and emerging metrics for measuring research impact, including Impact Factor, Altmetrics, and beyond.
Virtual EventThis workshop explores the intersection of digital activism, data collection, and visualization techniques in the context of gender-based violence and feminist movements. Participants will learn how to harness the power of GraphCommons to create impactful visualizations that can amplify marginalized voices and reveal hidden patterns in complex social issues.
CEDISH Co-Lab 3.02.38, 3rd Floor, John Peace LibraryHave questions about making your OER accessible on UTSA Pressbooks? The OER Team and the Digital Accessibility Team are ready to answer them! Please bring your questions about OER and accessibility and receive guidance from our two teams.
Virtual EventThe University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education .
The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to promoting access for all. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.