Major: Teacher Preparation
As the youngest of five and a first-generation college student, Stephanie Chávez is grateful for the opportunities she has received.
“My parents stopped their educations in the fourth and sixth grades in order to migrate from Mexico to the U.S. to escape poverty,” she said. “They had four kids that they raised in Chicago and did everything they could to keep my siblings safe. But the neighborhood in which they lived set my siblings up for hardship.”
Two of her siblings graduated from high school, while the other two later earned their high school equivalencies. College was not a given for Chávez, but academics became her priority when her parents moved to the suburbs. She excelled in high school and although she rarely saw an educator who looked like her, she wanted to become a teacher.
But after struggling during her senior year with a social studies course focusing on U.S. government and policy, Chávez began to doubt her dream when she enrolled at College of DuPage.
“At my core I needed to be a teacher, but I let outside voices say that I would be better in other professions, so I was unsure of what to do,” she said. “I decided to take one education course my first semester to see if it was right for me. My professor was April Zawlocki, and she helped me realize that it was.”
Chávez immediately became a member of the Aspiring Educators Club. She served as an officer that same semester and later was president for two semesters.
“As I continued to grow alongside the club, I was elected as the president and served two semesters in that position,” she said. “Being active in student life allowed me to make connections with my peers and faculty members while learning about our future profession and giving back to our communities all at once.”
Her hard work resulted in being recognized by Student Life as COD’s Emerging Leader of the Year. Continuing her path toward becoming an educator, Chávez—who also works part-time with fourth graders at a nonprofit—was elected as the communications coordinator and, most recently, as chairperson for the Illinois Education Association Aspiring Educators, a branch of the largest teacher’s union in the state.
College of DuPage challenged me in the best ways possible while also supporting me unconditionally.
Stephanie Chávez
“Being a leader for pre-service teachers all over the state has taught me so much about leadership in professional settings, and it revealed a love for education policy that I never knew I had,” she said. “My community consists of college students who are doing their best to combat the obstacles that they face while obtaining their professional educator license. I helped in hosting a racial and social justice professional development session for pre-service educators and attended another professional development session and book club that followed the work of Dr. Bettina Love in order to learn about combating racism in our public K-12 schools.”
Chávez earned her Associate in Arts degree and was named one of the College’s two outstanding graduates. Now at Elmhurst University, she plans to become a high school social studies teacher, the subject that she once struggled with in high school.
“I’m the daughter of immigrants who wants to teach policy and the history of this nation,” she said. “Since no one I knew who looked like me was doing it, I wondered if I could, and at times I experienced impostor syndrome. But I want to break imposter syndrome for the next generation and have students see themselves in me.”
In doing so, Chávez hopes to have an impact that extends beyond her classroom and perhaps influence educational policy.
“I have worked very hard academically to one day break the cycle of generational instability,” she said. “Attending college for me feels more like a privilege than a right, but I can see the disparities within the system. We need to tear down the school-to-prison pipeline and help students find a way out of high school that does not lead directly into jail cells.”
As for COD, Chávez said the College set her up for success.
“College of DuPage challenged me in the best ways possible while also supporting me unconditionally,” she said. “Every course I took and every resource I used was a constant reminder that I made the right decision attending COD. The personal counseling services offered by the institution helped me stay motivated and clear-minded through my studies. I would love to stay and do all four years here.
“For most of my life, I felt as though I had all odds against me or that I was not worthy of succeeding. Working toward my associate degree has come with many milestones and reminders that I am worthy and deserving of the opportunities my family never had, so I share my current and future achievements with my family.”
Learn more about the Teacher Preparation program at College of DuPage