About Ricardo Garcia

Ricardo Garcia, 21, is an honors mathematics major at the University of Houston.  As valedictorian of his high school class and a whiz at mathematics, Ricardo could have chosen all manner of careers in college, from finance to engineering.  But he chose teaching, because he wants to help ignite the talents of young people. 

On May 14, Ricardo will make history as the first graduate of the teachHOUSTON program when he receives his math degree from the University of Houston.  Thanks to the innovative program, he also will have the education courses necessary to become certified as a math teacher and will be able to start teaching next fall. 

Ricardo's mentors at teachHOUSTON use words like "stand out," "self-motivated" and "trailblazer" to describe him.  "He truly has a heart for teaching," says Susan Williams, one of the master teachers in the teachHouston program.

Perri Segura, also a master teacher in the teachHOUSTON program, said Ricardo had a special talent for technology and had often volunteered to help improve the technology applications in the program.  "When we got a new Active Board, Ricky volunteered to go through all 50 of the tutorials and then teach us.  And he did," Segura said.

Ricardo says he knew the minute he heard about the teachHOUSTON program that he wanted to participate.  "I've always liked helping people, and I figure teaching is one of the best ways to do that," he explains.  So when he received an email announcement about the program, he signed up immediately.  Because he was a sophomore and had to complete the program in three years instead of four, he doubled up on some of his classes so he could still graduate on time.

Ricardo was convinced that he was on the right track when he taught his first practice class.  "It was exciting.  You get a lot from the students.  It was not the grade level that I wanted to be teaching, but it was good because I got to get in front of real students and see what it was going to be like in the classroom.  I was hooked."

He has nothing but high praise for the caliber and warmth of the teaching staff at the Houston program.  "The teachHOUSTON program has meant the world to me.  The people here are like my family and this has been like a home," Ricardo says.

The University of Houston is one of the 13 universities around the country now offering the teaching program, which is being replicated nationwide by NMSI.  The University of Houston was the first UTeach replication site and was launched in 2006 thanks to a $1.05 million grant from the Texas High School Project (THSP), which is a public-private partnership in Texas designed to increase high school graduation rates.

As part of the program, Ricardo served as a student teacher at Clements High School in Sugar Land, Texas, (Fort Bend ISD) and says taking charge of a classroom has gotten easier with practice.  "When I started practice-teaching, I thought teaching Algebra I would be a piece of cake. But you have to communicate very clearly with students so they will understand the material and understand what you are asking.  I like students to be interactive with their own learning, so they can figure things out.  My job is to give them the tools they need so they can make the connections they need."

Known to his friends as "Ricky," Ricardo was a valedictorian of Santa Fe High School in Galveston County in Texas, and he is graduating magna cum laude from college.  His older brother, Tomas Garcia Jr., also is graduating in May from the University of Houston at Clear Lake and also intends to be a teacher.  "We've had two uncles and an aunt in our family who were teachers, so it's something we've seen and admired," he said.  "And our parents have shown us the value of helping others."

For his first two years of college, Ricardo worked part time and holidays at a local department store to help pay for his education, and subsequently, he worked in the teachHOUSTON project office.  Thanks to that assistance, as well as scholarships, he graduated debt-free.  This fall he plans to begin his career as a high school math teacher in Fort Bend County.  As he prepared to celebrate his graduation, Ricardo observed, "Teaching may not pay as much as some fields, but it's not about the money.  It's about the students and being able to push them to do what they can.  We need people who can communicate clearly with students so more people can go out and shape the world.  I want to make a difference...and I believe this is the way for me to do it."

About Andie Grasmick Nye

Andie Grasmick Nye, 22, is an honors mathematics and political science major at the University of Kansas.  Andie offers this good advice for younger students trying to decide which career to pursue: "If you like math and don't want to work in an office all day, teaching is a GREAT opportunity -- and you get the chance to change people's lives.  There aren't many careers where you can have that kind of impact."

When she was in high school in Denver, Colorado, Andie says that initially she wasn't particularly keen on math.  "I didn't dislike it, but I didn't necessarily like it," she admits.  Then she took pre-Calculus her junior year and "absolutely loved it and loved my teacher."  The teacher encouraged her to take more calculus classes, and she soon realized, "I could do math."

By the time she arrived at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kan., Andie knew she wanted to be a math teacher, but she wanted to keep her options open, so she pursued a double major in political science and mathematics.  "I definitely wanted to major in math, but I also had an interest in political science.  I learned a lot in those classes about racial and income disparities in education, which are the kind of social issues that you will run into as a teacher, so it will be helpful background."

When Andie heard about the UKanTeach program her sophomore year, she realized it would be a perfect fit for her interests in math and teaching.  "I used to think teaching was standing up in front of a class and just showing examples.  The UKanTeach program opened my eyes about how exploratory studying math can be.  They are on the cutting edge of teaching math. The fact that you get a degree in your field means that I will go into my job knowing more math content.  I have taken tons of math and engineering and science classes, which will help me be well-rounded."

Andie says she particularly liked that the UKanTeach faculty treat the program participants like their colleagues rather than their students.  "They definitely respect our opinion and when I felt something could be better, I definitely let them hear about it. 

They are really great about encouraging feedback.  It is easy to respect them because they have been teachers themselves and have direct experience in the classroom, so they can speak from experience and with authority.  They are always trying to meet our needs as learners, always working to help us."

Her UKanTeach mentors return the compliments by pointing out that Andie was in almost every one of their first UTeach replication courses as they were rolled out at KU.  "As one of our 'guinea pigs,' she has been incredibly valuable to us as we work to meet the UTeach curricular expectations and fine tune our courses," says master teacher Margie Hill. "She is a delightful young woman.  I just got back from watching her in action in the classroom, and she is GREAT."

Even with a double major, planning her wedding her senior year and preparing for her practice teaching classes, Andie is graduating this May with a 3.61 grade point average on the 4-point system.  She has also been recognized as an honor roll student multiple times.

During her sophomore year, Andie also worked as a tutor in the KU athletic department, teaching math to a half-dozen student athletes from various sports, including football, track, golf and swimming.  She says the experience taught her a lot about teaching.  "Only one was an engineering student, so they weren't necessarily the best math students, and I had to modify the way I explained things.  It really helped me learn how to explain things several different ways, because what makes sense to one student may not necessarily make sense to another student."

Andie applied some of what she learned as a tutor to her practice teaching for the UKanTeach program and searched for ways to help the students relate to the subject matter.  When teaching quadratic equations, for example, she offered projects that they might be find fun, such as going shopping at their favorite store to see how to maximize cost savings and then graphing the data.  "It makes it more interesting to make it personal," she says.