Ashley Alanis Palacio

In middle school, she was taught by Mr. Sean Simmons, which was one of the first times she had a person of color as a teacher. She was so inspired by this experience that she entered high school knowing she wanted to start taking classes in education as soon as possible so she could someday give that same kind of inspiration to others. “I took a child psychology class in ninth grade that started it all for me,” said Ashley. “I knew that this is what I wanted to do and was encouraged to keep pursuing it by my teachers.”

While she took classes like cooking mostly to learn new skills or for fun, she stayed committed to build the foundation to someday become a teacher. During a Preschool Lab class, Ashley worked with other BHS students to create lessons for real preschool students including science projects and outdoor activities.The classes take place within BHS and the high school students teach and ultimately write a final paper about the experience of seeing the young learners grow and learn. “I was able to create some really strong bonds with kids in that class and it was amazing,” said Ashley. “The fact that I can make a child excited to come to school is so rewarding.”

As she continued to take classes like Introduction to Education and Multicultural Education, she got more experience in the classroom through student teaching. A memorable moment came when she was student teaching at Sky Oaks Elementary and spoke Spanish to a group of students, who were so thrilled to be able to communicate in Spanish with a teacher. 

“That was so powerful and I am so grateful that I got that opportunity as a high school student,” said Ashley. “I haven’t had many teachers of color and that does push me to be that person that kids look up to and feel like they are represented by teachers.”

Her experience at BHS not only gave her a head start on college plans to attend Concordia University in the fall to pursue a major in Elementary Education, but it also allowed her to qualify for her current job at a local daycare provider as a Teacher’s Aide for infant, toddler and preschool classes. “Through the Pathways program, it’s almost like I was given an internship opportunity since I got the required experience to be able to qualify for my job,” said Ashley. 

"I have such a passion for kids and I find the job to be so rewarding. I originally didn’t plan to become a teacher, but through the classes I have taken I learned how powerful the job of an educator truly is." - Ashley