Hampton Bays High School has the pleasure of introducing Mrs. Gonzalez, an English New Language (ENL) teacher, who is helping students learn the English language.
Mrs. Gonzalez hopes to instill curiosity about learning English in her new students. She worked as a student teacher last year and is excited to be back working as a full-time teacher now. By gaining experience and meeting a lot of new people, Mrs. Gonzalez has come to love the Hampton Bays community.
Mrs. Gonzalez was born and raised in Brazil where her first language was Portuguese. From a young age, Mrs. Gonzalez was always fond of learning new languages. She learned to read, write, and speak English in middle school. Currently, she knows four languages: Portuguese, English, Spanish, and French. She learned Spanish working alongside many Spanish speakers as a hostess at a restaurant in Southampton.
Upon graduating college in Brazil, Mrs. Gonzalez came to the United States which she describes to have been an easy transition. There were times when she missed her family and friends but if you ask her who she is today, she’ll say, “I’m half American because I’ve been in this country for 15 years already and I’ve already soaked up the culture and traditions and customs.”
Mrs. Gonzalez was inspired to become a teacher during the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic was a challenge for many but also brought a lot of opportunities to her. “I feel like it was an opportunity for me because it was a time for me to step back and reevaluate my life and set my goals and where I want to go.” She taught her children remotely during that time which made her realize that she wanted to become a teacher.
At Stony Brook University, she continued her education as a graduate student with a different and more mature approach to getting her degree to become a teacher. Mrs. Gonzalez received a Master’s Degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), officially becoming an ENL teacher.
In her free time, Mrs. Gonzalez likes to do an abundance of activities like reading, gardening, photography, spending time with family, and traveling. But most of all, she loves to cook. Caring for two young children requires her to cook every day for them which she enjoys. She cooks dishes from countries around the world like Brazil, Cuba, and Asia.
As an ENL teacher at Hampton Bays High School, Mrs. Gonzalez wants her students to know that they can come to her at any time for help and advice. That she can be “that person for them.” She describes language as the front door of the culture and can picture her students coming into this country the same way she did. “I have this tool within my hands and I want to use it to help somebody else.” She believes language can maximize opportunities in a country already full of them.
