2011 OSU Ecampus graduates

Yajaira Fuentes-Tauber – One step closer to a Texas-sized dreamYajaira Fuentes-Tauber 2

M.S. Science and Math Education
Brownsville, Texas

What does completing your degree mean to you? How do you feel it will improve your life and career?
Completing my master's degree gives me a sense of accomplishment and self-fulfillment that inspires and enables me to better serve students in the classroom as well as make a difference in their learning experience. By earning this degree, I have grown as an educator because it has given me the skills and knowledge that will allow me to prepare students to become lifelong learners.

Why did you choose to complete your degree online through OSU Extended Campus? What did you like about this method of education?
At first I was uncertain of online education; therefore, I wanted to participate in a program that was challenging and provided quality instruction, such as that of an on-campus class and, of course, schedule flexibility. OSU Ecampus was the right choice. The programs offered through Ecampus require students to maintain continuous contact with the professors, advisors and community of learners. The program met my needs and I feel that I worked hard to earn the degree, just as I would have in a regular classroom.

Did you have an instructor or advisor who was influential in helping you succeed as a distance student?
All professors in the master's degree program were great, but the one that had the greatest impact helping me succeed was Dr. Emily van Zee. From the start she cared about making a personal connection that would help create an understanding of my background and the factors influencing my teaching and learning style. At first I was self-conscious about my writing due to the fact that I'm a Hispanic and English is my second language, but with the help and support of Dr. van Zee I'm more comfortable writing. She has taught me to use my background and experiences to understand those I teach, as well as in my quest to become a better teacher every day.

What will your Ecampus degree allow you to do that you were unable to do before?
Now I'm eligible to teach college concurrent credits at my high school, which means that I can have an impact on students' opportunities for earning college credit while still in high school. With that said, I can also accomplish my goal of becoming an adjunct professor at the local university. Earning my master's degree takes me one step closer to continuing my education in my endeavor to earn a doctoral degree and fulfill my ultimate dream to prove that, regardless of the generational poverty and lack of educational opportunities my parents had, it is possible to be successful.

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