New AVID tutor is very eager to begin teaching career.
Photo by Heather Larson
As we have reached the heart of the 2009-2010 school year, many students are needing more help achieving the spectacular grades that their parents expect from them, and with that comes the need for more help tutoring those students. The Thomas Jefferson AVID program has not only recruited more student tutors, they have also hired three more professional tutors, who are working at TJ as full-time jobs, one of whom is twenty-three year old Jennifer Martinez.
Graduating from DU in December after transferring from UNC in Greeley Colorado, Martinez has her education degree in social studies for secondary learning, sixth through twelfth grade, and has high hopes to not only become an educator to the students, but a very fun teacher. She said she hopes the students can approach her easily to talk, get help, or anything else they may need. “If they come talk to me, I will answer pretty much anything. Also, I will be sure to help them with any assistance that they need.”
Growing up, Martinez was surrounded by the desire for education, as her mom was a Para-professional, and on a regular basis would let Jennifer and her sister accompany her to work on their days off. Because her mom always worked in Denver Public Schools, Martinez has been able to see the system evolve and change her entire life, and she said she hopes to make it even better as a teacher herself in the system.
Although Martinez loves this job as a tutor, she knows that it will give her a boost in her career as a teacher. “I absolutely love the ‘urban’ education that schools such as TJ offer, as I grew up in more of a rural area, very secluded from everything. Looking back, my siblings and I all wish that we had had more of the urban aspects of things. Tutoring here at Thomas Jefferson is not my ultimate goal, as I would love to be a teacher; but I knew Ms. Buffington and Ms. Vann from before, so they helped me get this job, and so far I love it.”
Along with assisting here at TJ in the AVID program, Martinez enjoys life outdoors, exploring, and living life to the fullest. “My personal motto is ‘Be safe, but experience as much as possible.’” Some of Martinez’s favorite things are being outside, running, hiking and biking (normally in Morrison Colorado near Red Rocks, and within Dear Creek Canyon).
Martinez is also a big fan of art, including painting, reading, movies, and music. “I pretty much love anything with a beat. I love jazz, rock, progressive rock, anything like that. My favorite though, I’d have to say, is Radio Head. I mean, how can you not love them?!” Martinez said laughing. “I also love Indie movies, such as Sin Nombre and Amelie. I’m also a sucker for Jersey Shore, I gotta’ admit. Watching the, ‘Fabio’, ‘Italian Stallions’ strut around, it’s hilarious. I tape it every week.”
In addition to being very in touch with nature, and loving art, Martinez is also very close to her family. “I have a very large family, and we all live within Denver, so we are all very close.” Martinez describes her parents as outgoing and truly role models, as they are still married in a society where marriage fails nearly half of the time, and ends in divorce. “Its nice to see true love does still exist.”
Martinez says she wants to travel the world, and truly experience all the different cultures. “I’ve never been out of the US; however, some of my favorite places within America are San Francisco and Seattle, because they are so full of diversity, culture, and are beautiful. I especially love that in San Francisco they have the trolleys, because then you don’t have to drive everywhere.”
Martinez says that, as a student, she would have absolutely loved to have someone like herself there to help her with whatever she needed, and that is one of the reasons that she was influenced to become a teacher. “I am the second oldest, and I played such a big part in my sisters’ lives, and I always wished I had someone like myself to help me along the way, and get me going in the right direction, and so that’s what I’m trying to accomplish within this crazy world of teaching.”
