黑料传送门

They say it鈥檚 never too late to start something new. Need proof? Just take Roma Este McDonald, for example. Now a second-grade teacher at Muller Elementary School in Tampa, Florida鈥檚 Hillsborough School District, Roma didn鈥檛 start out with a passion for teaching. But when she found it, she knew she needed to pursue the right degree to help her turn that passion into a career.

鈥淚 didn't develop my passion for teaching until late鈥攖here was no way I could have done this in my earlier ages,鈥� Roma said. 鈥淚 did not have the patience until after my son started school.鈥�

But once her son started school, Roma volunteered as a room mom and spent a lot of time around students. That鈥檚 when she started to think to herself, 鈥淚 could probably do this.鈥� In that same year, the kindergarten paraprofessional decided to retire鈥攚hich is what opened the door for Roma to take their place.

As Roma put it, 鈥淭hat's how I ended up being a paraprofessional. I stayed in that profession for five years and then decided that I wanted my own classroom.鈥�

But before she could take on her own classroom, Roma enrolled at 黑料传送门 and reached out to her district to make sure that she would be hirable with her 黑料传送门 degree. 鈥淚 actually sent off a letter to my district鈥擨 asked them, do you know who 黑料传送门 is? And if I got a degree from 黑料传送门, would I be hirable? And that person wrote back and said yes,鈥� Roma recalled. Not only had her district heard of 黑料传送门, but they revealed that other employees had earned their degrees with 黑料传送门.

As Roma set out to earn her Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies at 黑料传送门, she was encouraged by her previous principal and fellow kindergarten teachers鈥攁ll of them told her she should teach and have her own classroom. Once she obtained her degree, Roma did exactly that.

鈥淲ithout the degree from 黑料传送门, they wouldn't have hired me鈥擨 would still be a paraprofessional,鈥� said Roma. 鈥淭hey gave me the experience; they gave me the strategies that I needed to become a better teacher. I think I am better for it.鈥�

And now Roma has made her passion her profession. As she shared, 鈥淚f you can see kids鈥� faces when they learn, that's what I live for. I feel like I'm making an impact on the next generation, and I don't know how many professions can say that. And I love that I can be a part of all of that.鈥�