Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/994766
J U S T I N E A L M A N Z A remembers when MEA President Ericka Meadows sent out a note to chapter members about the various CTA scholarships and grants that were available. "I looked them over, and the MLK scholarship seemed like a good fit," Almanza says. "I love what MLK stood for." While teaching seventh- and eighth-grade special education at Great Valley Elementary, Almanza is pursuing her special ed credential, then anticipates getting her master 's in special ed at the Teachers College of San Joaquin. It's a full schedule, she says, but she has it easy compared with her mother, a third-grade teacher. "I have an intern credential right now, where you can teach and go to school at same time. My mom had to go through the student teacher program with no paycheck. I'm able to do something I'm passionate about and support myself at same time." The second-year educator knows special education is her calling. She recalls helping out in her mom's class early on. "I was always drawn to chil- dren that had something special." With her experience with younger children, Almanza was surprised when her Great Valley principal thought she'd be a good fit to teach older kids. It's clearly worked out. "I love what I do, I love the kids, I love that they 're inde- pendent. And at that age I can joke with them!" " I love what I do, I love the kids, I love that they're independent." — Justine Almanza, Manteca Educators Association, won a 2017-18 Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Scholarship in the amount of $5,200. E V E N B E F O R E she entered high school, Alyssa Gomez was vol- unteering at Higher Ground in Anaheim, which offers services for at-risk youth and families. Now, having completed her first year at CSU Fullerton, Gomez will spend the summer there again, as well as at the local YMCA. "I help out wherever it's needed," she says. "Sometimes I help kids with homework. Sometimes I help in the art classes." Gomez aspires to teach art. She is an accomplished artist herself, working in multiple media including pastel, acrylic, charcoal, oil, watercolor and ink. She has won recognition for her talents over the past few years, and has been selected as a participant in several prestigious art academies. In college she is also studying animation. Her CTA scholarship will go toward college tuition and expenses. "I feel tremendously honored to be given a scholarship that will help me so much toward achieving my goals," she says. "It will help relieve the financial bur- den on my family. Art supplies are costly." Gomez counts as role models not only her mother, who has been an educator for more than 18 years, but also an art teacher who she says changed her life. "Just as my teacher helped shape me into the person that I am today, I want to do the same," she wrote in her scholarship appli- cation. "I want to be able to inspire students, see students reach their potential." " I feel tremendously honored to be given a scholarship that will help me so much toward achieving my goals." — Alyssa Gomez, daughter of Cynthia Johnson, Teachers Association of Norwalk-La Mirada, won a 2017-18 Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Scholarship in the amount of $6,000. 60 cta.org CTA & You