This is Mrs.Cardenas, who is currently part of our English Department here at Parlier High School, and who is a proud, mighty panther, as she is a former graduate from Parlier High
Even though today she is a teacher, she mentions ironically that becoming a teacher was not in her life plans. Yet, in the past she had a close experience with teaching and leadership skills when she was part of the NJROTC program here at PHS, more specifically its Drill and Academic Teams. Mrs. Cardenas mentions that her original plan was to enroll into the medical field, she went to Cal State, San Marcos to pursue a career in Nursing, yet, through a literary clinical studies course, she found it difficult to adapt to detachment from patients, and it re-ignited a passion for literature which took her to re-think her career plans. After thinking about what she loved to do and wanted to do for the rest of her life, she switched her major to Literature and Writing to pursue a career in Editing as she has always had an immense passion for reading and writing.
For her senior year of college, she transferred to Fresno State in which her credits automatically transferred to English Education. Facing this situation, she took the challenge and became a teacher overnight, volunteering at a local elementary school, subbing at the junior high and student teaching at the high school to find out what kind of teacher she wanted to be. If she was going to teach, she knew she wanted to teach back in her hometown. Even though this career shift was a shocking thing to her, she says she does not regret anything as she has been able to find a deep love and respect for the teaching career. This also taught her one of the most valuable lessons which was giving back to the community that valued her own dreams.
As mentioned, Mrs. Isela Cardenas is now one of our teachers here at Parlier High, which she mentions is one of the reasons she is passionate about teaching since is pleased to help her community and see the kids like her, through to their own graduations. Being a part of the journey of our students is a big accomplishment for her. She mentions that working in Parlier is her motivation for being a teacher and inspiring the dreams she knows her students can accomplish while also fostering a creative and culturally sound environment on their way to the rest of their lives.
Teaching in her hometown has also deeply touched her life, as she mentions that it has made her more conscious of the needs in the teaching field. She also adds that seeing how students progress and helping them find their own voices along the way is her favorite part of the job.
After everything she has been through, she mentions that everything has been worth it. She feels more than happy for the decisions she took, and for what she is able to do nowadays. Even if she got the opportunity to go back to her original career plans and be an editor, she would not take it and instead, continue to be a teacher in Parlier, surrounded by her students daily telling her about their day.
She thanks and appreciates Master Chief Robert Nugent and the late CWO4 Mark Bristol, who were her former NJ instructors and her biggest mentors to uphold and uplift her community, instilling discipline and integrity as well as motivation as her key values. Similarly, to her AVID teachers, Mrs. Marcia Scibilia (at PHS) and Mrs. Raquel Navarro (at PJHS) for guiding her to find her own voice and footing in her formative years through critical thinking and love of classic literature. And to Mrs. Julissa Peña, who fostered her love of reading and writing for a lifetime at Brletic Elementary, from an early age. Finally, to Dr. Rafael Iniguez, who served as her counselor throughout four years of high school, validating and empowering her to follow her dreams and open doors for others, always with kindness.
Overall, she is thankful for where she is today and feels grateful for what she gets to do and who she gets to do it for. For her students.
