Best Wishes to Our Newest Grads

Many thanks to three May 2022 graduates for sharing their thoughts about their experience at UNC Center for Urban Education and what they are looking forward to as teachers. We asked them:

What is an important lesson you have taken from the UNC Center for Urban Education?
What are you looking forward to the most in terms of your teaching career?
What advice do you have for people who are going into a career as a PK–12 teacher?

Congratulations to all of our graduates. We look forward to hearing your success stories in the future!

Flor Conteras

(pictured with her students, above)

An Important Lesson from My Time at UNC

Self-reflection and giving myself grace are the best remedy for anxiety caused by making mistakes.

Looking Forward

I’m excited to establish my own classroom norms and build a community/family that practices vulnerability and celebrates perseverance.

Advice for Future Teachers

Children come with their own constructed realities based on what their culture is at home. To have a positive impact on an urban classroom, you’ll need to understand that poverty brings a variety of challenges to families. Those challenges impact students’ learning and social-emotional abilities. Your teaching methods and practices should be asset-based and focus on the strengths of each student.

Rebecca Sturm

An Important Lesson from My Time at UNC

It’s essential to create a safe and healthy classroom environment and meet the needs of all students.

Looking Forward

I’m enthusiastic about changing the lives of young people and making sure that my students are getting the most out of their education.

Advice for Future Teachers

Don’t give up. Students of all grades and ages depend on their teachers. You can inspire young minds.

Cassandra Harden

An Important Lesson from My Time at UNC

Always strive for success, even if success means to fail. Failures only make me stronger and wiser. Also, I never rush my growth; I flourish when I go at my own pace.

Looking Forward

I’m looking forward to becoming a Native leader and making an impact in early childhood education by working directly with young Indigenous children and families in tribal communities.

Advice for Future Teachers

Always listen and learn alongside children and families. There is so much information in textbooks, but students gain the most valuable knowledge from shared teachings and experiences. Be open and flexible to new experiences and opportunities; those choices could help shape you into a stronger educator and leader.

CUE Debuts New Video Featuring Current Students

UNC Center for Urban Education has published a new video titled, “Community Matters! CUE Student Voices.” In the video, three current students speak about:

Why they wanted to become a teacher,
How the Center for Urban Education has helped them on their journey to become a teacher,
Where they see themselves in five years, and
What advice they have for people who want to become teachers.

Speaking to that last point, teacher candidate Brolon Moton (pictured above) said, “Do you feel good about your job? Can you manage it for the next five years? Or are you looking for something that might change the world? Are you looking for meaning? It all starts with little ones. If you want something that makes you feel alive and changes daily, this is a great career choice.”

If you want something that makes you feel alive and changes daily, teaching is a great career choice. –Brolon Moton

Thanks to CUE students Paul Lang, Caitlin Mason, and Brolon Moton for participating in the student interviews. Thanks to Jay Billups at JBCM Photo & Video for donating the time and expertise to create the video.

Newsletter Archive

Did you miss previous issues of the Chronicle? Visit the Leadership Council page on our website, scroll down, and click on past newsletters.

Contact Us

Rosanne Fulton, PhD
Director, Center for Urban Education
UNC Denver Center at Lowry
1059 Alton Way
Denver CO 80230
Office: 303-637-4334
rosanne.fulton@unco.edu
www.unco.edu/UrbanEd

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