Growing up in Puerto Rico, Spanish teacher Alina Jimenez Rosa admired her mom’s dedication to form connections with her students. What began as admiration soon became a calling, leading her to follow in her mother’s footsteps.

“I was behind the desk seeing her, how she was teaching, talking with [her] students and teaching all the lessons in Spanish and having that connection with the students,” Jimenez Rosa said. “It was just really an inspiration for me.”

In her classroom, Jimenez Rosa encourages students to embrace the challenge of learning a new language. She carries with her the lessons passed down from her mother, reminding herself to understand her students’ perspectives before guiding them forward. 

“One of the values that she always told me is, [put yourself in the students’ shoes], because even though you are the teacher, you have to talk to them,” Jimenez Rosa said. “You have to know their knowledge. If they are feeling bad, you have to get into what they are feeling.”

Jimenez Rosa sees her classroom as more than a place to practice grammar and vocabulary. She hopes her students view Spanish as a lifelong tool, something they can carry beyond school. 

“I really hope if they go somewhere like a place out of the country, they can at least try to speak Spanish because they have the base,” Jimenez Rosa said.