World Languages and Cultures
Ruth Hurtado, SLHC 2019
My name is Ruth Hurtado. I was a Spanish Language and Hispanic Culture at California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB). I graduated in Spring 2019. I am currently an Alder Resident at Alder Graduate School of Education in partnership with Monterey Peninsula Unified School District. The Alder Residency Program is an accelerated graduate program where one can obtain their Master’s Degree and Teaching Credential within a year. I got my current position through my previous employer at Monterey Peninsula Unified School District as a Program Leader. Some qualifications that you need to become an Alder Resident is to have a Bachelor’s Degree and pass the California Basic Education Skills Test (CBEST) and the California Subject Examinations for Teachers (CSETs). As a part of the Alder Residency Program, I am a student teacher at Seaside High School. I am placed in a classroom with a Spanish teacher participating in hands-on teaching. As well as attending classes to obtain my Master’s Degree. Something I enjoy about my Residency Program is the relationships that I am building with the students and getting the opportunity to get experience in the classroom. A challenge that I am juggling is trying to manage my classwork with the lesson planning and grading that comes with the Student Teaching aspect of the program. The WLC major at CSUMB helped me prepare for my career by offering courses that help in preparation for the CSET, but due to the new legislation from the California Commission for Teaching Credential, I no longer had to take the exams due to the classes that I took for the Spanish Language and Hispanic Culture major. My favorite course that I took while at CSUMB was Spanish 301: Comp/Oral Practice. I really enjoyed this class because I was able to bring out my creative side when we got the opportunities to write poems and short stories. Some advice that I would give existing majors/ future graduates is to have fun while taking the courses and that one never stops learning. No matter if you are enrolled in school or not, every moment is a learning opportunity.