Alumni Spotlight
Jonathan Loa
"Once all is said and done I promise, being prepared by the College of Education will make your career as an educator a walk in the park."
Jonathan Loa graduated from TAMIU in May 2019 with a major in Mathematics with 7-12 Certification. He is about to complete his first year of teaching at Southwest High School in San Antonio, where he teaches Geometry.
Loa looks back fondly at his time at TAMIU and with the College of Education. “Dr. Mayra Lee Pena, Mr. Ernesto Trevino and Dr. Rohitha Goonatilake (of the College of Arts and Sciences) were all huge supporters through the obstacles I faced throughout my certification process.”
He goes on to recollect, “Block III (Clinical Teaching) was probably my favorite class. It allowed me to make so many great memories with the students and staff at my assigned campus. After going through the College of Education for so many years, you develop friendships with those that are in your cohort.
“One of the best memories I have from my time as a student at TAMIU is of going to the career fair. Although it is a required part of our Clinical Teaching course, it was probably one of my most enjoyable experiences. Clinical teaching is a stressor at times, so it was nice to take a day off and spend some time with friends, talking to the different school districts, all of which have many different things to offer.”
"Trust the process! You are responsible for molding the generations to come."
He offers advice to students who are working towards a career in teaching: “Trust the process! The College of Education is by no means supposed to be an easy program. Keep in mind that becoming an educator is not the kind of job where you can show whenever you want. You are responsible for molding the generations to come. With that in mind, if you are serious about becoming a great educator, then the road ahead is going to be tough. Once all is said and done I promise, being prepared by the College of Education will make your career as an educator a walk in the park.”
“As a first-year educator, nothing was more challenging than stressing over my first evaluation. I never had any difficulty standing in front of students, but having an administrator in the room monitoring everything that happens for a whole class period is something I dreaded. However, I remembered the many evaluations that took place during my classroom experiences while studying in the College of Education, and I realized that I just needed to approach this in the same manner. The evaluations that are used through the College of Education mirror that of T-TESS (Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System), and as such, I knew the expectations that were set for me prior to my administrator ever stepping foot in my classroom. I was able to prepare myself and my lesson in the best manner possible.”
Loa’s goals for the future are to become a head football coach and school administrator.