Your MISSION ACCOMPLISHED Story
"My EPM-MVP Graduation Story
By Dilcia Granville, Ph.D.
When I was a teen, my parents emigrated to the USA, running away from a dictatorship regime in the Dominican Republic. The transition was excruciating; I left behind all my school friends, cousins, and close relatives. The most painful thing was unable to understand the culture; the students and particularly the teachers appeared to be too busy to at least inquire about my journey.
Imagine how depressing it could be for a teenager to go to another country without friends, feeling completely isolated. There was no pre-preparation stage for pre-migration involving the decision and preparation to move. Nor did I have the power to make decisions on the physical relocation of individuals from one place to another. I experienced pain in the post-migration stage, defined as the ""absorption of the immigrant within the social and cultural framework of the new society."" The high turnover of teachers and the many substitutes teacher was a revolving door that caused many students to drop out, except for one teacher, Mr. Allende.
In my journey, I was fortunate to take classes with Mr. Allende, an outstanding professor and excellent educator who fit my learning style and valued everyone's culture. He insisted that everyone must be heard, as he nicely put it, ""this is your class, and we learn from each other."" My belief about teaching is highly influenced by my memorable professor and is forever in my mind. He made us the center of learning and was the guiding instrument of our educational experience. I treasure his memory and hope to become like that professor and make a difference in the life of my students. I strive to become a good teacher, good listener, strong communicator, adaptable, engaging, empathetic, patient, collaborator, and sharing best practices.
Similarly, I wish to become a good learner by believing in life-long learning, self-confidence, self-motivation, self-management, high emotional intelligence and self-awareness, self-reflective, independent, and primarily responsible for my outcomes and experiences.
These engraved memories of an unforgettable educator inspired me to create my Xperiencify Culturice EPIC System. In addition, they led me to take a teaching approach that aligns with my beliefs of placing the student at the center, creating an experience and environment that empower students to engage, learn profoundly, and become self-directed learners.
"