Teresa Fontes
Math and French Major
College of Holy Cross

Dearborn Next staff talked with Teresa in early October. Read the interview below to learn more about how Teresa figured out her current path. Teresa is happy to connect with fellow alumni and offer support as you navigate your next steps! If you'd like to connect, reach out to her at talexfontes@gmail.com or 857-334-8727.

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What are you up to now, and how did you get to this point?

I am in my second year at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester. I came into college as a biology major, and my first year, I was one of ten students selected to work in a lab. I worked in a biochemistry lab alongside a chemistry professor, had a mentor, and did research. Then I took a calculus class, and I realized that I loved math! I enjoyed math all through high school, but I never thought about math as a possible major. I decided to double major in bio and math. But then, I also wanted to study abroad for a full year next year – I’ll be in Strasbourg, France for a full year next year, And, I’m a French minor. Since I’m going to study abroad for a full year, it’s hard to double major, so I had to decide which one I’m going with. I realized I like math more than biology.

 

To make the decision, I thought about what are the reasons I like bio so much – and the reason was that I like teaching it – more than the actual content! When I was at the Dearborn, I used to always help my friends with the content and language help they needed. I don’t like bio itself, I like teaching people. And I really like math – so I thought, what if I become a math teacher! I looked into the Teacher Education Program at my school, and I took an education class where I tutored elementary kids. So, right now, since I dropped my bio major, I’m a math major. And instead, I’m double majoring in math and French – once I study abroad for a whole year, I’ll have completed the requirements for the French major. 

 

The way it connects to my high school days is because in my classes at DSA, when I was with my Cape Verdean peers, I always helped them with content – I would translate it. I’ve been back to DSA multiple times to work there and translate to Cape Verdean kids, including helping to prepare them to take the MCAS. My experience has made me the person I am today – someone who wants to be a teacher, who wants to take care of my people. I want to go back to Dearborn and teach there. My parents never went to college. So as a high school student, I didn’t think much of college. But I want to go back and give back to my community – be a teacher, be a mentor to them. We come to this country to get a better life and support our parents. There are a lot of opportunities out there but it’s hard for us to find them. I want to give back, connect young people with these opportunities, and help young people to help our community. 

 

Can you share more about why you’re so excited to be a math teacher?

I want to be a teacher. I want to be a math teacher because I love math. It’s something I have a lot of fun with. I realized that I tend to procrastinate in a lot of other classes doing the assignments – I don’t have to force myself to start working on my. When I was in Calculus 1 and 2, I always helped my classmates, and I liked explaining stuff to them. I feel like math is underappreciated and a lot of people don’t have a lot of good experiences with it. You don’t have to love math, but I want to help people to just appreciate math and all the things you could do with it. You know, when you’re in a high school class, you hear, “Why do I need to learn this?” I  want to be there for students and help them understand what math is for. 

 

Where do you see yourself in 4 years (6 years after High School graduation)?

Right after I graduate, I want to do the Boston Teacher Residency. I want to start that and then go straight into teaching. I do want to travel to different French speaking countries to get to know people from all over the world, and I can do that during the summers.

 

How did you decide to study French?
I go to a liberal arts college and all students have to take two classes of the same language. I did Spanish in high school, so I wanted to do something different. All students in Cape Verde learn French and English, so I’m already familiar with French. I took one semester, and I really liked it, and then I was done with my language requirement. One of my goals is being a polyglot, someone who knows multiple languages. French is going to be my fourth language – I speak Cape Verdean Creole, Portuguese, English and French. I ended up really liking French. 

 

How did you learn about studying abroad?

A professor asked me about studying abroad. Right now I’m in the 200-level French class. I’m really excited for it. I want to go to Europe and meet different people. I have family in France - my aunt lives there – but I’ve never been. I leave next July, and I’m really excited. The school is going to pay for everything, so I should go for it. This is a big opportunity.

 

What are your long-term goals? 

Definitely to be a teacher. I want to be financially independent. I want to be someone who can provide for my family and have my own house. I want to be able to travel during the summer, too.

 

Who or what has helped you persist on this path towards these goals?

The staff at my school have helped. There are a lot of amazing people I have talked to. There was this one chemistry professor – she was the one who asked if I ever thought about teaching. Then, I met with this woman who works for the teacher education program at my school. She was the advisor at my school. I talked to Jesse, too. We made a plan for Boston Teacher Residency after college, and what I want to do. Also, definitely the Dearborn, too. Ms. Almquist. Whenever I have break, I can text her and she has a job for me working with students. This whole summer I was there working. The Dearborn staff has also been an amazing help to me. When things get hard, I like to talk to people. I’m an over-thinker – I doubt myself a lot. I have to talk to people so they can bring me back to my senses so I can keep going.

 

What advice would you give to students coming behind you?

Take advantage of as many opportunities as you can. During my high school years, growing up, I didn’t have someone to look up to. I didn’t take advantage of opportunities offered to me. I played around a lot. Take college classes, do internships, do as many extracurriculars as you can. Explore to see what things are there for when you graduate high school and college. Start searching around for things you enjoy so that when you go to college, these are the things you can pursue. My Early college classes were really helpful. They helped me figure out what I didn’t really like. That way, when I went to college I already knew what I wanted to do. 

 

Also, don’t be scared to talk to people and ask for help. Just go up to someone and ask if there are any jobs or internships that they know about. That’s what I do at my school: network with people and ask for advice.

 

For my graduating class, always do your best, and it’s OK sometimes to take breaks. It’s OK not to achieve something. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. There’s such a rush to get things done early. It doesn’t matter how long it takes to achieve a goal – take breaks, have fun. That’s something I struggled with a lot my first year of college. I was so focused on my grades that I didn’t go out and have fun.

 

What else would you like to share about life after high school?

It’s lowkey not that different from high school. When you go to college, all the kids are so childish and immature. At least freshman and sophomores. It is way more fun than high school. The media and movies portray high school as the best four years of your life, but that’s not true. College is fun. Yeah, it’s a lot of work, it's stressful, but I’ve met a lot of amazing people from all these different countries. High school is your own region, people you’ve grown up with your whole life – college, there are international people, people from different parts of the United States. So many different people and cultures all being part of a community. Everyone is different, but we’re all working towards getting an education – you get to learn so much about different people. Don’t be scared to try it out and give it a go.