An inspiring young woman, passionate about all aspects of schooling, teaching and her family, math teacher Cristina Rojas lives life with a positive outlook.
A recent graduate of the University of California at Merced, Ms. Rojas majored in applied mathematical sciences with an emphasis in economics. Becoming a teacher was an obvious choice, as Ms. Rojas likes to be actively involved, and did not want to spend all day confined to a cubicle.
“I want to be a positive influence to our society,” she said in explaining her reason for teaching, “So what better than teaching our future leaders?”
Enthusiastic about math, Ms. Rojas appreciates the logic behind it, and the fact that it has order.
“There are many ways to do it, but they are all going to lead to the same answer,” Ms. Rojas said.
After graduating from college, Ms. Rojas was a tutor, and working at OVS is her first official teaching job. OVS became possible, since all the other schools she was looking at were too far away from her family. She appreciates the small size and the opportunity for one-on-one time to work with students. When OVS offered her the job, she jumped at the opportunity.
“I think that so far Ms. Rojas has done a really good job of adjusting to the OVS community and conducts her classroom really well, and I’m excited to see what else she’ll bring to the school as the year unfolds,” said Lauren Rothman U’17.
Ms. Rojas knows that OVS will impact her positively, and she has already learned in the opening weeks of school.
“I’m definitely going to learn more about the type of teacher I’m going to become,” said Ms. Rojas, “I’m going to grow as a teacher.”
Originally from Port Hueneme, and now living locally in Oxnard, Ms. Rojas’ favorite things to do are listen to music, play with her dog, Chanel, and spend time with her family. Very family oriented, Ms. Rojas gets together with her family every Sunday to have dinner at her grandmother’s house, go to a movie, or merely hang out and talk.
Ms. Rojas learned important life lessons from her parents, such as her work ethic from her father and her positive outlook on life from her mother.
“She’s always there for me and she’s the one to defend me,” she said about her mother, “She’ll always have my back.”
Ms. Rojas values loyalty above any other quality, which reflects on her most valued life lesson.
“Be there for your real friends and your family,” she said. “Don’t turn your back on people you know are going to be there just because you know they are going to be there. Don’t take things for granted.”