My friends call me Dany, and I am from Orange County, California. Although I currently live in Provo, Utah, my husband, toddler, and I visit California at least three times a year. I enjoy eating tacos, fruit with chili powder, Mexican candy, and raspados from street vendors. Some of my favorite places to visit back home are Disneyland, The Getty, The Museum of Latin America, thrift shops, and local swapmeets. Although I am 100% Californian, I confess that I am indifferent about the beach—oops!

 

I attended 11 different schools before I graduated from high school, and personal problems at home caused me to rebel against high school and education in general. But after serving an LDS mission in Salt Lake City, Utah, I gained a longing for education that I still thirst after today. After my mission, I received my A.A. in Liberal Arts from Santa Ana Community College, and then transferred to Brigham Young University where I graduated with a B.A. in English Education and a minor in T.E.S.O.L. I am currently working on my M.A. on Science of Instructional and Curriculum Design from Western Governors. 

 

When I was in high school, I thought that I wasn’t smart enough or capable of achieving difficult things. In class, I was distracted with personal problems, and since I moved around a lot, I didn’t trust any of my teachers enough to ask for help. I wish I had a teacher who could see the potential in me to be great, or even ask me if I was okay. I shudder at the thought of letting even one student slip away into the world without knowing that they are great. I am proud to be a teacher who cares for her students individually.

 

My experience in the classroom as a student has molded the way I am in the classroom as a teacher because as the late poet, Maya Angelou, said, “people will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.”

 

Welcome to your sophomore and junior year!

- Mrs. Macias