Sandra Maldonado Ramirez | What Drives Me Sharing ... - Macmillan Teaching Community

Sandra Ramirez shares what drives her to achieve more.

My Journey to #AchieveMore

Everyday my biggest motivation to go to work is knowing that I am touching the life of our future generation. I know I hat not everyone would become a mycologist but having at least one of my students committed to continue the path I've showed them, is satisfactory. Become an expert in any field require commitment, passion to learn, and the ability to collaborate, skills not only necessary for the academia, but also for everyday life. Just few days ago one of my graduate students obtained her MS. Three years ago I had to fight to get her into our graduate program, because of her GPA. During her graduate years she became an expert in a poorly known group of fungi and demonstrate her ability to teach and mentor other students. She obtained the first prize for her poster presentation at a meeting here in Puerto Rico and co-authored two other works with her mentored students. At her thesis defense she put out a flawless presentation and have no corrections for her final document. This provided me the proof that I did the right thing three years ago. Otherwise Kiara maybe choose another path and her abilities will be lost. For me seen her achieving all this recognition felt as if was one of my kids. I cried tears of joy because she was also a mother. What an amazing role model for her growing daughter. These feelings and emotions doesn't have a monetary value, those are the things and the people I will cherish forever.