By Briana Barreda
“It feels really good to be back at Pueblo,” said Ms. Estefania Herrera, a 2011 Pueblo graduate who has returned to her alma mater to teach ELD (Levels 3 & 5) after teaching junior English at Desert View for five years.
Although she misses her Desert View students, Herrera said that she was ready for a change.
“I always planned to return to Pueblo,” she said. “My high school years at Pueblo were the best, and every time I walk down the halls, I am flooded with nothing but awesome, fun memories.”
Herrera said that Pueblo life was much different a dozen years ago.
“I’m disappointed that so many high school students live on their phones,” she said. “Few students even had phones when I attended Pueblo, and we [students] communicated better with one another. I have definitely seen a decline in adolescent social skills, and that’s sad to me.”
One of Herrera’s objectives is to instill in her students that education is the key to success.
“The more you learn, the better you understand the world around you,” she said. “Today, college is no longer an option—it’s a necessity to make a living. Students need to be mindful of their teachers and learn as much as they can from them.”
Last month, Herrera married Leonardo, her fiancé of several years.
“I’m happily married, I’m back at Pueblo, and I have the best students ever,” she said. “So, yeah, I’m very happy, and I hope that is contagious to my students. I can only hope that they have as much fun as I did during high school.”
Although Herrera plans to be a teacher for several more years, she would like to earn a master’s degree—perhaps in education or another field.
“I think we need younger principals,” she said. “I think students are able to connect with younger administrators better than older ones who might be slightly out of touch with this generation.”
For now, however, Herrera is still elated to be back home and in her own classroom.
“It’s [my classroom] really all mine,” she said. “And this Class of ’11 Warrior is teaching future graduating Warriors. What could be better and more fulfilling?”