My name is Maria and I graduated from Villanova University with a degree in Education and French. I was born and raised in Puerto Rico. My first language is Spanish, second English and third French. I was very active at Villanova. I was part of an A cappella group, a hip hop team, performed in a musical, participated in all cultural shows. Community service was important too, I tutored younger kids, volunteered for a year at an animal shelter, would volunteer every year in Special Olympics and the Villanova Day of Service. I had always dreamed of becoming a teacher and I was able to make it come true at Villanova. I have been taking French for almost 11 years now. I also went abroad to Rennes and Paris in France summer 2008. Where I lived with a host family that did not speak any English. It was the best experience of my life! Since I was going to get certified in French, I decided to get certified for Spanish also. I am just fascinated with the different cultures and the languages. My student teaching took place at Conestoga High School, where I taught 4 classes of French 3 Intermediate/ Honors. During my student teaching, I used my passion for teaching to identify student needs and create comprehensive lesson plans. I learned to be patient and to modify lessons to reach even the most challenging students. I realized that classroom management centers on the teacher’s ability to be clear and concise about the goals, instructions and purposes of an activity. I learned to diversify my lesson plans to keep students involved and to promote positive student-teacher and student-student interactions. My personal experience with different cultures and ways of life has undoubtedly broadened my perspective and shaped my teaching style. I truly wish to reach my students by imparting both the ability to communicate in another language and an understanding of the associated people and culture.