Finding Your Path
While most education majors follow a traditional path to their future teaching careers, Kristian Rocha has had a different experience. As a paraprofessional for two years before coming to Midland, Kristian has a unique perspective on education and what kind of a teacher he wants to be. The rewarding experience working with his students in special education solidified his decision to pursue a teaching career.
“I’m drawn to the potential I see in kids. There is a different feeling you get when you start working with a kid and then by the end of the year you see how much they’ve progressed and how proud they are of that growth. It’s just a good feeling.”
After getting his associate’s degree from Central Community College, Kristian returned to his home school in Schuyler, Nebraska to work as a paraprofessional at the middle school. Working with students as a paraprofessional for two years, Kristian was convinced to return to school to get his degree in secondary English education.
“After pulling together and getting my associate’s degree, I went and started working at Schuyler Middle School as a paraeducator. I am in my third year there, but at the end of high school and into college, I worked off and on with Schuyler’s K-5 after-school program for several years. So I have been working with students for a while. After everyone at Schuyler started encouraging me, I decided to Midland to get my education degree.”
Kristian admits that English was not his favorite subject in school. But it is that reason why he has decided to pursue a teaching degree in that subject. He wants to use his role as a teacher to foster a different experience in English for his future students than he had.
“In school, I never liked English, which comes as a shock to most people when they find out I am an English education major. I was really proficient in math, science, and history. I loved those subjects. I questioned why I needed to take English year after year. As a teacher, I want to try and make it more fulfilling for kids, and maybe they will like it more than I did.”
As a student at Midland, Kristian continues to work as a paraprofessional in Schuyler. Even while earning his education degree, Kristian has continued to maintain those relationships at Schuyler. It is a place he wants to return to as a teacher.
“I am hoping to get a job in Schuyler. They have been so supportive of me, so I am really hoping to stay there. I already have staff members asking if I am going to work there after graduation. It is home for me.”
Looking back on his untraditional path, Kristian acknowledges that he wasn’t fully prepared for what college would be like and didn’t know what he wanted to pursue for a career right out of high school. He believes that he needed his time as a paraprofessional to solidify his desire to be an educator. He encourages his fellow students to find what works for them.
“I went in blind. When I first got to college, I went in thinking I wanted to be a teacher. Then I switched to accounting, then to IT, and I finally switched back to teaching. You just have to find what works for you and try to stay on that path. It’s going to be fulfilling when you find what you want to do and what is going to make you feel good, no matter what path you take to get there.”
Kristian Rocha is a junior secondary English education major from Schuyler, NE. To share your story or nominate a friend, email social@midlandu.edu or post using #FacesofMidland.
