It may seem surprising but new Spanish teacher Telvi Altamirano Cancino studied sociology in college.

“Many times in sociology we talk about the No. 1 factor in creating social change and that is education,” Altamirano said.

That understanding was a major reason that Altamirano decided to become a teacher so that she could have the opportunity to be a role model and part of the one factor: education.

She decided to teach Spanish because she believes being bilingual can open many doors for many people and because she loves sharing her native language with others.

Altamirano said that she thinks the most difficult challenge at McCallum will be attending as many school events that all of her students participate.

“There are so many awesome organizations that many of my students are part of, and I would love to be a part of everything, so just organizing my time so that I can make it to at least a few events that my students are part of [will be a challenge],” Altamirano said. “I love McCallum. The students are sweet and dedicated to their schoolwork.”

Altamirano also said that she loves the level of school spirit also the level of creativity and positive energy of the campus. And she hopes that her classroom can be one more space on the campus where students succeed.

“I think the most important thing to being a successful student in my class is being open to making mistakes,” Altamirano said.

Since her class requires speaking a new language, she feels it’s important that students take risks, even if they don’t get it right because it’s important to try and more importantly because students will only learn through making mistakes.

“I love teaching Spanish, and I see myself still teaching Spanish,” Altamirano said.

She says that teaching is both a job and a hobby. She loves interacting with the students, that is the most fun, but there are aspects that are job that are more work and less fun like grading and planning.

“I am motivated by the challenge of making my students fall in love with Spanish and creating an environment where they feel comfortable speaking the language,” Altamirano said.

The only problems she has encountered is not knowing the campus well, getting lost trying to find the gym or another teacher’s classroom.

“I would absolutely refer McCallum to someone,” Altamirano said. “I feel so lucky to have landed in such a great school, I hope that all teachers experience this wonderful feeling [that I’ve experienced here].”