What made you choose to pursue your MA in Teaching English as a Second Language?
I lived abroad in San Juan, Puerto Rico for two years, where I learned Spanish and taught English as a native speaker to adults working in pharmaceutical companies. I enjoyed it and thought to myself, “I could go to school for this.” I began looking at degree programs back in Boston, where I could go to college and be a single mother to my daughter, who was in third grade at the time.
Why did you decide to attend Simmons?
One thing that stood out to me about the program was the requirement for applicants to have spent at least six months abroad. When I was in Puerto Rico, I was there as an expatriate trying to learn Spanish by taking classes and using it as a second language. The experience makes me very empathetic toward my students, who are settling here and trying to learn the language.
Tell us about your work as an ESL educator at Boston Public Schools.
While applying to Simmons, I began substituting in the Boston Public Schools (BPS) to get experience teaching English as a Second Language at a K-12 level. I didn't dislike teaching adults, but I knew I would be happier teaching K-12 students.
To get the most valuable experience, I always purposefully substituted at schools that were heavily populated with English Learners. This gave me a chance to bounce around to different neighborhoods and work with students from different countries. One school may have a large Vietnamese community and another school might have a large Spanish-speaking community.
I eventually transitioned to a paraprofessional position in a classroom that was a Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) environment. I worked in this role for five years, allowing me to implement what I was learning at Simmons in my own work. Having several ESL teaching positions at BPS gave me a lot of experience. I had a whole year to not only fulfill my hours, but the teachers that I worked with allowed me to do some extra things to practice teaching and instructing ESL.
Coming out of Simmons, I felt excellently prepared to teach ESL and confident that I could teach students from the kindergarten level to a higher education level. Once I completed my degree, I decided to move from being a paraprofessional to being an ESL teacher. I had various ESL teaching positions in several of the Boston Public Schools over the years until this past June, when I got the position of SEI/EL Director at Madison Park Technical Vocational High School.
Talk more about your role as an SEI/EL Director.
I wanted to advance myself and make an impact for English Learners (EL) on another level. In this role, I can make a difference on an administrative level for all English Learners in my school, not just the ones that make it to my roster.
Because of my living abroad experience and MATESL degree from Simmons, I became qualified as one of the only Black English Learner Directors in Massachusetts. Massachusetts was the first state to legalize slavery. I accepted the position in honor of my ancestors and for English Learner students. This is the most important part of the drive for my new vision.
Though I am excited to begin the new position as a director, I am going to miss teaching and being with students. I plan on continuing to develop relationships with students, now on a broader scale, just so that I can know what they're about. They teach me. That is very fulfilling for me.
Tell me about your business, Life's Paper. What inspired you to establish it? How has it changed or grown?
I started Life's Paper in 2013, and we sell gift wrap paper and greeting cards that have an African inspiration.
When I was growing up, my family had a business for 54 years that sold Afrocentric stationery and gifts, much of which were imported from the continent of Africa. I was exposed to a lot of greeting cards with African Americans on them and gift-wrapping paper with some Afrocentric designs. I was exposed to so much of it, that when I decided to come up with my own, I already had my own vision. I knew I wanted to put something out there that was unapologetic and that I hadn't seen before.
In the wintertime, Life's Paper participates in vendor opportunities for holiday pop-up shops in the Roxbury neighborhood. I have also recently expanded the business's wholesale line.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Amazon Black Business Accelerator had been calling and emailing me with interest in adding Life's Paper to Amazon. At first, I was hesitant to sell on Amazon, but I eventually joined the program and it has been a blessing. Before, I was trying to move my own products with my own limited marketing skills. Now, I'm being mentored by people with excellent marketing expertise.
Life's Paper sells products from our website. I also use Facebook and Instagram to update customers on upcoming products.
How did Simmons prepare you to become a leader in your field?
The leadership skills that I gained from Simmons and from my teaching experience also apply to my leadership as a small business owner. I often tell myself, my daughter, and my students: Let your work speak for itself. Just be quiet, focus and concentrate. Even your haters will eventually come around and respect you.