Noyce Scholar Profile
Manuel Olmos
Undergraduate major or graduate field of study: Math
Subject area(s) and grade level teaching focus: 8th - 12th grade Math
Category of scholarship/fellowship:
Noyce Scholar
Name of Noyce institution:
University of Texas at Arlington
Current academic or teaching status:
Senior
School and school district:
Arlington ISD
Background:
I was born and raised in Anaheim, California until I was 13 and moved to Fort Worth the summer before my freshman year in high school. I breezed through high school and felt like it wasn’t challenging enough for me. College was very different but I enjoy the challenge and I enjoy attending classes every day. I currently work for the university as a high school mentor and it just helps me realize that I’ve made the right choice to become a teacher.
Why do you want to teach:
Going into college I had three majors in mind; engineering, accounting and teaching. When choosing my major I decided that the only reason I had considered engineering and accounting was because I knew I could make a lot of money from careers in those fields. I chose to major in education because I had many great teachers when I was a student and I am very thankful for the learning experience they were able to provide. I want to be a great educator like them.
Describe a memorable teaching experience:
My most memorable teaching experience happened while I was teaching a middle school class for one of my courses. The teacher asked us to teach about a certain topic but when we got to the classroom we discovered that the students knew just about everything that we were planning to teach that day. Instead of having a day of review, we found a way to relate the lesson to the one we previously taught to the class, and the students were excited about being able to see the relation between the two topics.
What does the Noyce program mean to you:
The Noyce program has given me the ability to focus on my education and not worry so much about other things. I’m very thankful that I was accepted into the program and enjoy everything it offers.
