Claudia Ramirez

I am currently a sophomore at Dominican University. I plan to major in Spanish with a minor in Latino/Hispanic Studies. While at Dominican I plan to obtain my Elementary Education and Bilingual Education Certifications. The Dominican School of Education can be visited at http://www.dom.edu/soe.

As of the spring of 2011, I am a scholar in the Golden Apple Scholar program of Illinois. This organization promotes excellence in teaching. The Golden Apple Organization has been recognizing excellent teaching since 1986 when the founders, Mike and Patricia Koldyke, decided to publicly award 10 teachers with the Golden Apple Award. After that, the organization kept expanding.

The Golden Apple Summer Institutes prepare college students to become excellent teachers. Scholars, such as myself, make a commitment to teach in a school-of-need for five years as a way of giving back. The mentoring received from Golden Apple makes a tremendous difference in the way aspiring educators think of their future classrooms.

I hope to return to my home community in Waukegan, Illinois. By serving in one of the many schools-in-need of the Waukegan Public School District I plan on reaching the parents to increase their involvement in thier students' education.