South High teacher Andrea Magaña Chávez said her childhood dream was to become a teacher, a dream she has achieved.
Magaña started teaching freshman seminar in 2022; it is Magaña’s third year teaching at South, a place she said she enjoys working. “I enjoy teaching ninth graders because they are funny,” she said. “I enjoy being able to help when they need it.”
In Freshman Seminar, students can expect to choose a pathway to pursue for their remaining years of high school. Pathways are suggested courses of study – such as fine arts, journalism or robotics – that students can take to explore career paths.
“We understand that not all students know what they want to do in the future, and that is OK. This is a great class to explore career interest and better skills for success; for example, learning how to be organized and responsible for one’s own learning,” Magaña said.
One thing that inspires Magaña is her community.
“My community inspires me by being supportive” and helping people overcome the obstacles they face. “They want to do better for the well-being of themselves and their kids, so that inspires me to do what I do.”
Magaña said one of her favorite things about teaching at South is simply doing her job.
“I like my job. I went to school here, and I knew I wanted to come back. I felt cured by my teachers in a way, and I was always impressed by the students and their skills.”
A few facts about Magaña are that when she’s not working, she enjoys going to the gym along with walking her dogs, hanging out with friends and trying new foods.
Magaña said that her favorite thing about teaching is “seeing how my students develop new skills all the way up until they graduate.” She said she also loves watching her students improve academically and socially throughout their high school journey. “I’m happy knowing I played a small part in their life by helping or just being their teacher in general,” she added.
