“Other students would go to me if they didn’t understand the lesson,” says secondary education major Erick Olivas about how his own schooling influenced his interest in becoming a teacher, “They would say to me, ‘You explain this so well.’ That is kind of where it started.”
Olivas, who is a first-generation college student originally from Chihuahua, lives in Santa Clara and divides his time between his home town and the WNMU campus in Silver City. While he works with his father on the weekends and enjoys playing pool with friends in the Life Lounge on campus, like most college students he spends much of his time studying.
His hard work and potential as a teacher resulted in him recently being named a Golden Apple Scholar. Golden Apple is a non-profit that makes a “material difference in resolving the teacher shortage through its Scholars and Accelerators programs by expanding the pipeline of highly effective, diverse educators,” according to the organization’s website. Founded in Illinois, Golden Apple has recently expanded into New Mexico, where it recognizes the need to recruit and retain strong teachers, especially in the state’s rural areas. Olivas is among the first students in NM to be named a Golden Apple Scholar.
Olivas, who has an interest in history and hopes to teach high school social studies, is especially excited about the mentorship opportunities that the program affords. It “helps you get a connection, a network, with other teachers that have more experience,” he said.
After graduation, Olivas plans to stay in the area to teach. He explained, “You need to stay in the community, to help your community in the same way it helped you.”
Caption: Erick Olivas is a first-year student at WNMU who plans to teach social studies. He was recently awarded a Golden Apple Scholarship.