Let Inspiration Fuel Your Dreams! #ForTheDream @CocaCola #Ad

*This is part of a sponsored collaboration with Dime Media and Coca-Cola.  However, all opinions expressed are my own.     I've been a teacher for almost twenty years and have tried to instill in every single one of my students the importance of going to college.  I teach in an impoverished neighborhood in Bronx, New York and many of the children who attend our school come from homes where they experience financial hardships.  Unfortunately, their budget doesn't always allow for aspirations to get higher educations to be nurtured which is very sad when you consider how bright and talented my students are.     In the last few years, we have created a college and career readiness program to inspire our students to set goals for themselves of getting college degrees in the future.  As part of this program, we schedule tours of local college campuses and even organize a career day every spring to introduce our students to Hispanic … [Read more...]

How Do You Inspire Your Family To Achieve? #ForTheDream #Giveaway #Ad

*This is part of a sponsored collaboration with Coca-Cola and DiMe Media and all opinions are my own.     Education has always been extremely important in our family.  From as far back as I could remember, I was encouraged by my parents and my grandparents to put school first and to keep in mind all of the doors that getting an education would open for me in the future.  This inspiration to achieve my goals stayed with me throughout my entire academic career and helped me to secure the necessary scholarships to allow me to pursue my college degrees as an adult.     You see, I knew early on that my family did not have the financial means to pay for my college education.  As a result, I worked very hard to maintain exemplary grades so that I could apply for any kind of financial support that would help me accomplish my goals.  This hard work paid off and it allowed me to attend college and to realize my dream of becoming an educator.     Now that my son is a tween, these are … [Read more...]

Uncap Their Future-College Scholarships For Latino Students! #DestapaSuFuturo

    It is extremely difficult, as an educator, to see students not reaching their full academic potential due to a lack of finances.  Unfortunately, this is the case for many Latino students who forego attending college due to the financial burden that it will place on their families.  It is simply heartbreaking to see young and talented Latinos deferring their dreams and goals due to financial limitations.     From as far back as I could remember, I knew that I wanted to go to college to become a teacher.  In Latin culture, family is very important and children often spend a lot of quality time with extended family members such as cousins and aunts and uncles.  In my family, I spent a lot of time with my Aunt Maria.  She was a Special Education teacher for many years and would take me to her school to visit her classroom whenever I had a day off from school.     As a result, I got to see how much of an impact a teacher has on the lives of her students.  It made me realize that this … [Read more...]