At a young age, Phoenix High School senior Cynthia Diaz knew her desire was to one day become a teacher in Whitfield County.
“But when I started high school, I realized I wanted to give opportunities for other kids, too, especially bilingual kids like myself,” Diaz said.
Tuesday, Diaz was one of 16 students representing four Whitfield County Schools high schools who took part in a Future Teacher Signing Day ceremony at the Northwest Georgia College & Career Academy. The students signed letters of acceptance for colleges and universities in Georgia and Tennessee while also meeting with college representatives and school system officials.
Diaz, who was the first student from Phoenix to take part in a Future Teacher Signing Day ceremony, is the only senior to be currently employed in a teaching position within the district as she prepares to attend Dalton State College in the fall.
“She’s already working here at the Career Academy,” said Principal Sherri Travisano. “She finished her coursework in September and then we had a position open in our Intensive English Academy.”
Travisano said Diaz began working as a paraprofessional in the academy, which helps students who are new to the country and speak little to no English learn the language, in February.
“She’s also going to work with us on a special project this summer and during the next school year as well while she’s taking classes at Dalton State,” Travisano said. “We’re so excited for her, she’s a natural teacher already.”
Diaz said having bilingual teachers in the classrooms is “very necessary.”
“These kids are coming from Cuba, Colombia, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala. They don’t know anything in English,” she said. “So, to see them speak to you in English after teaching them, it means so much. I hope one day I can be teaching my own class in something like ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) or the (academy), helping kids that are bilingual or just kids in general.”
‘This is what I wanted to do’
Three seniors from Coahulla Creek High School participated in the signing ceremony, including Laila Arriola and Ashlyn Miller, who both plan to major in elementary education at Dalton State in the fall, and Preston Green, who enrolled at Berry College near Rome to study biochemistry with a secondary education endorsement.
Green said a major factor in selecting Berry was the “school life itself.”
“I never really wanted to go to a big school,” he said. “Berry has small class sizes and it’s also a very beautiful campus. As for a future teaching career, I’m going to see where the wind takes me but I’m hoping for high school education in math or history.”
Green said the thought of becoming a teacher really began to influence him during his sophomore year at Coahulla Creek, thanks to Principal Tracy Mardis and math teacher Billy Singletary.
Seven seniors from Northwest Whitfield High School participated in the ceremony, with five set to attend Dalton State in the fall: Sarah Key, Makenzi Masters and Patricia Ridley, who plan to major in elementary education; Ian Miller, who plans to major in secondary math education; and Jaqueline Paramo, who plans to major in secondary English/language arts education.
Northwest senior Leanne Climer will attend the University of North Georgia to major in elementary education, while Tristyn Sutton will attend Augusta University, where she plans to major in elementary education while minoring in theater arts.
“I hope to one day teach either music or theater, but I would also be OK with staying in the classroom,” Sutton said. “I really wanted to branch out and live the college life, so that’s why I chose Augusta. I didn’t know it existed until I went down to visit it this year and I just loved the campus. It’s a good environment.”
Sutton said it “took a little while” to find the career path she wanted.
“For the longest time I wanted to major in communications and, just for volunteer hours, I started volunteering in a first-grade classroom at New Hope Elementary with (first-grade teacher) Priscilla Collins,” Sutton said. “My sister Shaylen also volunteered with her during her senior year and that’s what made my sister want to go into teaching at Dug Gap Elementary. It took a little while, but eventually I realized that I really loved that environment and this is what I wanted to do.”
Building up others
Representing Southeast Whitfield High School were five seniors, including Isabella Garcia and Hannah Hall, who plan to major in elementary education and secondary math education at Dalton State, respectively.
Three seniors from Southeast signed to attend other schools, including Matilyn Painter, who plans to major in agricultural education at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton; Eryn Phillips, who plans to major in music education at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga; and Karla Archila, who will attend Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, to major in music education.
“I’ve always loved band and music, and I’ve had a pretty great band director for the past two years at Southeast named Ashley Hooker,” Phillips said. “She’s been a huge inspiration for me and I would like to continue on in the band world and take after her.”
Garcia said her decision to stay in town was easy.
“I chose Dalton State because they have a really good teacher program and I’ll still get to be around my family,” she said. “I’m probably going to stay here for teaching, too.”
Garcia said the main reason for wanting to become a teacher is to shine a spotlight on students who might not feel included.
“Ever since I was a kid, I noticed that there were always kids that seemed to be left out, and I was one of them,” she said. “Kids that just weren’t always in the spotlight. So, I knew at that moment that I wanted to be a teacher. I want to be someone for kids that I didn’t necessarily always have growing up.”
Finding ‘meaning’ and ‘fulfillment’
Representatives from Whitfield County Schools provided words of encouragement and advice to the seniors, including Superintendent Mike Ewton, Deputy Superintendent Karey Williams, District Literacy Coach Alice Ensley and Human Resources Director Robb Kittle.
“Four years from right now you will have completed your student teaching, all of your coursework, and you will be graduating,” Williams said. “It goes quickly, so learn all that you can and stay tuned in to the learning. Always, from this moment on, you are a teacher. Remember that every step of the way. All of us congratulate you and we are so happy for you.”
Ewton said with any student who makes the decision to further their education in a postsecondary institution, “nobody does it alone.”
“Thank you to the parents, teachers, administrators and everyone who helped get these students where they are today,” he said. “And seniors, congratulations. If you take a minute and look around you’re going to find that most of the happiest adults are the ones who find meaning in their work. They do something that they find fulfillment in.
“Sometimes that’s hard, and for some, it’s a lifelong struggle. But you will never have to search for meaning because it’s built into the work you’re going to be doing. Selfishly, we hope you come back to Whitfield County Schools to teach, but wherever your career may take you, whatever that path may look like, best of luck to you and remember you’ll always be part of ‘One Whitfield.'”