Teacher Profile: Erin Gonzalez by Raho Faraha

From far away you see a girl with a calm demeanor who’s listening to the students around her, rather than talking. Teachers and students are adding on to the sounds and noises, and all you can hear from far away are the soft murmurs that leave their mouths. Students surround her at a table and you can see a girl with shoulder-length hair with calm blue eyes matching her light blue blouse and dark blue jeans. You are watching Erin Gonzalez, a calm 20 year old who is a 7th grade literature teacher at Breakthrough for the summer.

Erin  loves her books and her history, and she teachers American history as her elective class. “ I like historical-fiction books because it’s fun to look at history through a different perceptive,” Erin says.

However, one of her favorite books is Pride and Prejudice.”My favorite book is Pride and Prejudice and my favorite character is Jane because I can relate to her,” Erin says.

Erin also enjoys reading science-fiction books because she likes seeing the creation of other worlds. “I like the creation of other worlds because it’s more interesting than our world,” Erin says.    

Erin has enjoyed being a Breakthrough teacher. ”I’m a Breakthrough teacher because I love books and teaching,” Erin says.

Even though Erin wasn’t a Breakthrough student, she still attends a very good university. “I go to Santa Clara University, but I transferred from Boston University,” Erin says.

Erin has many hobbies that she enjoys outside of Breakthrough. "I play the harp and I love to cook,” Erin says.

While Erin is an inspiration to many people, she was inspired by Hilary Clinton and one of her college professors."

Many different names have different meanings, but not many have a name meaning peace. Erin’s name in Irish means peace, which is such a fitting name for such a peaceful person. 

When asked about her favorite color, which is purple she says,” My favorite color is purple because there are so many shades to choose from and they have so many emotions behind each one,” Erin said.  

Luis Miramontes, another literature teacher at Breakthrough, has very positive things to say about her. "Erin is hard-working, responsible, and awesome!" Luis exclaims. "She's shy, but still all knowing."