Get Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable: Advice from an Alumnus

By Nicole Vickers '16 and Berkley Holzschuh '14

It wasn’t until Cisco Reyes ’03 stepped out of his comfort zone and did something new that his life fell into place. While he cautioned he is the exception, and most journeys have hurdles, Reyes believes success is a matter of risk taking and hard work combined.

As a student at Pacific University, Reyes said he wasn’t sure precisely he wanted to do with his career or even which career path he wanted to follow until the spring semester of his senior year.

Cisco Reyes '03

Reyes spent his time at Pacific not stepping out of his comfort zone to try to become a physical therapist, which was his first ambition, but rather playing baseball and coaching throughout the summers. Looking back, Reyes said “[he] developed late professionally because of [his] unwillingness to be ‘uncomfortable.’ Students need to learn how to be okay with being vulnerable; they’ll learn more about themselves that way.”

By putting themselves into more "uncomfortable" situations, networking or going to events, according to Reyes, students will be able to not only make connections that will help them later on in life, but they will be able to get their C.N.P. or Certified Nice Person. 

 “People won’t care how much you know until they know how much you care,” said Reyes. The more students are able to network and have a variety of friends, the better their chances are of being able to know the one person who, if they vouched for them, could mean the difference between having their dream job and getting passed over for the person who did make the connections.

Making these connections, networking and putting themselves in uncomfortable positions isn’t something students should try just for the sole purpose of helping their careers, it is also something that can be very beneficial in helping students find out more about themselves. Not only will new experiences and new people help to avoid some of life’s hurdles, they will also help students to develop and grow as individuals.

The more students are able to put themselves in uncomfortable positions, whether that be volunteering, staying away from home for a summer to work closer to your academic career or even just making and maintaining friendships, the more luck they will have.

A favorite quote of Reyes by Thomas Jefferson sums up his theory, “I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.”

Notes From Under the Oaks | January 2014

By Martha Calus-McLain '03 | Director of Alumni Relations

A sketch of the earliest building on the Forest Grove
campus

As I look ahead to 2014, only two weeks gone and the rest full of possibility, I have many resolutions. Among them is a hope to acknowledge people who make a difference. This week I am thinking about the great teachers I had throughout my education.

Over the past six months my husband has been reading the Little Housebooks to our daughter, who is completely enthralled with them. I recently overheard them reading a passage describing conditions in the one-room school house where Laura is teaching in negative forty degree weather.

“At half past three they were all so cold that she thought of dismissing school early. The mile that Martha and Charles must walk, worried her. On the other hand, she should not cut short the pupils' opportunity for learning, and this was not a blizzard.”

This passage brought to mind the spirit of the pioneers who founded Pacific in 1849 in the face of immense adversity.

It makes me think of the students who were so deeply committed to their education they found time for it among the competing responsibilities of frontier life.

It reminds me of the courage of teachers, both in 1882 when they commanded one room school houses throughout the west and today when they risk, and sometimes sacrifice, their lives to save the children in their care.

I shared this passage when I welcomed a dozen new students into our special ed program earlier this week. In a few years, these students will be alumni who spend their days dedicated to the success of young people. Based on the reactions of the students it was clear the passion and dedication Laura conveyed in her memoirs is still true of aspiring teachers.

Last night we hosted the Student Teacher Alumni Reception on the Forest Grove campus. During the evening we got to hear teachers speak earnestly and candidly about their experiences. Again, the passion and dedication was evident.

I hope none of our alumni are teaching kids who have to walk a mile in negative forty degrees, but I’m sure these alumni have a few stories of their own to share.

I’d love to hear from alumni who are teachers. What inspires you? Do you have a great story to share about students who walked a metaphorical cold mile for their education?

I’d also love to hear from alumni about the teachers who helped them. Who was your favorite teacher at Pacific, before or after? How did they inspire you? Did you ever walk a cold mile for your education?

Send us your stories and as always don’t hesitate to contact us if we can be of assistance.

Best wishes,

Martha Calus-McLain '03
Director of Alumni Relations

A New Lesson Plan Discovered Abroad

By Erin Shepard MAT '05

Since graduating from Pacific in 2005, with my Masters in teaching, I have been incredibly fortunate to work for the Hillsboro School District. I’ve been navigating the teaching world in 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th grades since 2006. The daily challenges and triumphs of teaching are very inspiring to me. I’ve feel as though I’ve truly found my niche in education. Adapting and growing with this ever-evolving field, brings me a lot of joy. 

Teaching has also provided me with some pretty incredible learning opportunities! I am a firm believer that the best teachers are life-long students themselves. I also think that one of the most powerful ways to learn about the world around us and to inform our teaching practices is through travel. Getting out of our comfort zones and learning about other places in the world can often lead to a greater understanding of the students we teach in our classrooms.

Just last spring, I was awarded a Fulbright-Hays educator travel grant to study in Mexico and Colombia. My trip began mid-June 2012 as I met up with my new travel comrades, 15 elementary teachers from across the United States, in Austin, Texas for a few days of orientation at the University of Texas. It was such a unique and special opportunity to connect with other educators and share experiences! 

The title of the travel seminar was “Mexico and Colombia: Beyond the Headlines.” The media coverage from both countries that we see in the states is often very negative. This experience was aimed to highlight the incredible richness of culture and diversity of people in Mexico and Colombia; to show the other side that often goes unnoticed. We visited local schools, traveled to rural villages, attended lectures and experienced ancient cultures, cuisines, arts and music. 

One of the most powerful experiences for me while in Mexico, was visiting a small village outside Puebla, called Tlaplanala. This community experienced some of the highest rates of immigration to the U.S., and its residents’ income was primarily from remittances from family members living abroad. This village, among so many others like it, was not providing enough economic opportunity to live off of. 

In response, local leaders applied for several small grants from both the public and private sector that supported families in raising chickens and pigs and growing their own vegetables. Kids from the village learn the entire process from purchasing the chickens, tending to them and even profiting from selling their very own chicken-sausage. Efforts are also being made to document language, folk stories and art from the community to preserve their rich culture. These economically tangible changes combined with feeling proud of ones’ heritage are supporting younger generations and giving them reasons to stay in Mexico. It seems to be a very powerful combination. 

In Colombia, we began our travels in Bogota. This sprawling city of just over 7 million people, sits high at 8,612 feet. I highly recommend bringing along altitude sickness medication if you plan on visiting! We toured the Universidad de Los Andes and visited a preschool there that focuses on whole child education. Bogota served as our “base camp” as we would fly out from there to the other cities on the itinerary including Medellin, Armenia, Cartagena and Santa Marta. 

Colombia’s mountainous and lush landscape is breathtaking! Our trip went up through the coffee-growing country and finished on the beautiful Caribbean coast.  The people we met along the way were so welcoming and eager to share their culture with us. Much like Mexico, the traditions, music and food vary greatly depending on what region you are in. 

Over the past ten years or so, major efforts have been made to help create access to jobs and education for all Colombians. A very emotionally moving experience for our group came in Medellin which was once ravaged by violent drug cartels. We walked in a neighborhood which most would describe as a slum, called Comuna Trece. It is traditionally the most violent area in all of Medellin. 

The people here live in a sea of tightly packed and poorly constructed houses. In Medellin, the most economically disadvantaged areas sit precariously on vast hillsides surrounding the thriving city. Knowing the hardships of the past and need to change the situation, funding for a project called the “electric stairs” helped build outdoor escalators that extend most of the way up the hillside. The escalators, also patrolled by security guards 24 hours a day, have provided better access to jobs, healthcare and schools for the residents here. 

They have also greatly reduced criminal activity and helped people feel safer in their own community. It’s an amazing success story and so inspiring to see first-hand. 

Through my travels, I learned there are many Mexicos and many Colombias. Each region, city, village and neighborhood has its own unique culture, history and traditions. My five weeks of travel left me with many things; new friendships, life-changing experiences and most of all, the desire to keep on traveling and learning. 

My teaching will forever be changed from this experience and I can’t encourage other educators enough to travel as a means of informing your practice. During the fall, I completed my curriculum project, titled, “Discovering Diverse Mexico: A Culture Box Adventure!” designed for 3^rd graders. This can downloaded soon at http://lanic.utexas.edu/project/etext/llilas/outreach/index.html.

In the meantime, you can browse through many incredible units of study all prepped and ready to be taught that were designed by former Fulbright-Hays participants. If you are interested in educator travel grants, I am would be happy to speak with you. I’d also love to come to your classroom and talk with students about my experiences. Now, on to the next adventure!

Shepard MAT '05 currently works in the Hillsboro School District. To see the trip in its entirety, please visit her travel blog at, erinshepherd.wordpress.org.

A New Perspective on Education

Mychaela Olson '09

As I sit at my desk in my classroom, I can’t help looking at the sign hanging above my desk that says, “The journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step” and laugh. 

Never in my wildest dreams would I have pictured myself where I am today; living and teaching in South Korea. 

When I graduated in 2009 with my Bachelor’s in Education and my teaching license, I did what any other newly graduated teacher did, search and apply for jobs around the clock and hope that in the current stagnant job market an opportunity would arise. 

After working for two years, I found myself unhappy in my job and was starting to doubt my decision to go into teaching. I knew I needed to make a change, I just didn’t know at the time the change that was going to occur would be so drastic. 

Now, here it is 13 months later and I have just started my second year teaching in Korea. I have loved every minute of it. I have had the opportunity to put all those skills I learned during my time at Pacific to good use, work alongside some amazing Korean teachers, teach some amazingly talented students from the young grade of Kindergarten all the way up to 6^th grade and I have learned a lot about myself along the way. 

It is widely known among teachers that we don’t go into teaching because we are going to make a copious amount of money. No, we go into teaching because we love working with students. This opportunity that I have taken has rejuvenated my love for teaching and working with children. 

I’ve also been extremely lucky to ignite another passion, traveling. I have been able to travel around Korea, adventured through Thailand for 17 days this past August and island hop my way through Indonesia this past January. 

Considering before all this I had never left the United States or Canada; if someone had told me this would be my life at 24 years old, I would have called them crazy. What started out as a whim of an idea has turned into an amazing experience. To be able to do what I love everyday and get to travel the world, as cheesy as it sounds, sometimes it seems to good to be true.

Olson '09 is a Native English Teacher for Geyonggi English Program in Korea (GEPIK). Her major at Pacific was Education and Learning. She is currently working on her Master in Curriculum and Instruction: Reading with an Emphasis in Elementary Education through Grand Canyon University in Arizona. 

Alumna Teaches in South Korea

Heather E. Douglas, MAT '08

"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step." – Martin Luther King Jr.

Suffering fresh jetlag, I was jolted awake by the cruel sound of my alarm clock. It was my first day teaching at a private school in South Korea and I wanted to make a good impression.  The dress I put on came straight from the suitcase I had packed in Oregon three days earlier.  For breakfast, I ate cold tofu because it was the only familiar food I recognized.

With butterflies in my stomach, I said silently to myself “be brave” as my shaky hand locked my apartment door.  On the outside, I was elated to have a real teaching job, but inside I was terrified.  My ability to communicate with my students and can I survive living in a foreign culture were only some of many questions racing through my mind that morning.

Like a school of fish flooding onto the immense sea of sidewalks, I joined hundreds of blue and white uniformed Korean children walking to school.  I felt curious stares as I adjusted my messenger bag. Classical music was piping through loudspeakers over the sidewalks, which were lined with trees full of pink cherry blossoms, and for a moment I forgot my angst and simply enjoyed.

Six months ago, I was a different person.  As I look back, I want to tell my old self “just enjoy the ride.”  At the beginning, I had no way of knowing the amazing adventures that awaited me. Simply visiting a foreign land only offers a taste, whereas immersion in a culture is life changing.  And (let’s face it) while the prospect of getting a teaching job in this economy can be quite daunting, international teaching opportunities abound in many fantastic countries around the world.

In 2007, when I began the MAT program at Pacific, Dean Ankeny professed to our fresh cohort seated in the room that first day:  teaching will take you on many adventures.  

It turns out he was right.  Sometimes I shake my head laughing at the randomness of life as I find myself gazing at a Buddhist temple or hear my students giggle and yell “teacher, teacher, anneyonghaseyo,” or as I ride my bike through the neon lit streets of South Korea inhaling the smells of exotic street food.

Although Douglas, MAT '08 originally graduated as a Language Arts teacher in the MAT program, through this international experience she has discovered her passion in working with ELL students.  She is currently working on an ELL endorsement, and hopes to continue to work with students from other cultures.  In her free time, Douglas enjoys photography and nature.