High school has always been a struggle for many people, especially for those whose biggest issue is adapting to English. Spanish teacher Alma Macias is a former Alisal student who decided to come back and start teaching here. “When I was a student I found out it was a really good environment here, so it became my dream to come back to Alisal,” Macias said. “So far I can say that it was the best decision I have ever made because it’s really easy to work with other teachers.”

Macias grew up in Michoacan, México, and came to Salinas at 17, for the second semester of junior year. It was different, but she knew she had to get used to it.

She struggled in English when she came to the U.S. At a certain point she thought that she was not going to be able to be successful in school. “Back then there was a thing where we had to pass an English test to be able to graduate and I will say it was really hard to pass it,” Macias said. “Honestly I was afraid to go to college because of my lack of English and I thought I was not going to be able to pursue any career.”

She did pass that test and graduated. She began school in CSUMB by majoring in business administration, but then realized that it just was not for her and decided to major in Spanish.  “I decided to pursue a Spanish career to be able to help my community and to be able to come back to Alisal,” Macias said. “I found out that in this side of Salinas there are a lot of people that need help.”

She graduated from CSUMB with a degree in Spanish and decided to do her Masters at San Jose State University. She graduated from San Jose and came back to Alisal after 10 years.  After being a substitute for one year, this is her first year teaching. ¨I dont have my credential yet, but for this year I am working with my emergency credential,¨ Macias said.

She will start working on her credential this year and that will let her keep teaching at Alisal next year.

Her main goal has always been to reconnect and start teaching in Alisal because she feels more comfortable and has a sense of belonging. “I feel great and happy to be able to teach in this school because it’s a great environment,” Macias said.

Right now she is teaching Spanish 1 non-native for those who are learning Spanish. She really enjoys it because there is more than just Spanish and she learns something new everyday.

She thinks that it’s easy to work with other teachers. ¨Every teacher that I have worked with here is very cooperative and supportive,¨ Macias said.

Some of her teachers who are still here are Mr. Munoz, Mr.Trujillo, Ms. Martinez, Ms. Cardona, Mr. Pizzaro. “She is one of those students who really strikes you as responsible and always trying to complete what she felt she couldn’t do so she worked twice as hard,” Ms. Cardona said.

English teacher Oscar Lopez, was one of her teachers and was the person who told her that she was going to come back to Alisal. ¨I remember that she was very hardworking and always tried her best,¨ Lopez said.

She thinks this school is great and she is really liking her experience as a teacher so far. Some things she likes doing in her free time is listening to music. She also loves to travel and hopes to be able to travel to Colombia and Spain.

This story was originally published on Trojan Tribune on February 16, 2024.