Current Teacher Candidates | World Language Teacher Education | WLTE

Maggie Gamboa

My name is Maggie Gamboa and I am from Lisle, Illinois, which is a northwestern suburb of Chicago. I decided to pursue my education in WLTE to learn how to be an effective educator on the topic and language I am passionate about, Spanish! Being an educator is not something new to my family, my dad, stepmom, and brother all being teachers only added to my interest in pursuing this career path and sharing our love for teaching and learning. I am a Golden Apple Scholar, which is a program that has given me many opportunities to learn and expand my knowledge as a teacher and develop amazing relationships with fellow future educators. Right now, I am focusing on going into secondary education, so 9-12 grades, but am honestly open to any grade level down the line, as they all provide different opportunities and skills to learn.

Marie Jensen

My name is Marie Jensen, and I am from Grand Ridge, Illinois. I am currently pursuing a master’s in Germanic Languages and Literatures and joined the WLTE program to teach German. Due to my ancestry, I began learning German as a freshman in high school and immediately fell in love with the language and culture. Given my background as a double major in English during my undergraduate degree as well as learning Mandarin Chinese as a FLAS Fellow with the U.S. Department of Education, I am hopeful to be endorsed to teach both English and Chinese. In addition to being a student in the WLTE program, I have served as a Teaching Assistant on campus for the German department where I taught GER 101 and GER 102. In 2023, I was a part of the Goethe-Institute Summer Academy Global Learning and Teaching where I had the privilege of being trained in the teaching of German in Bremen, Germany. I am also dedicated to serving in underserved communities throughout Illinois as a Golden Apple Scholar. Overall, I am driven to share this beautiful language with others, empowering them with the tools to connect with the vibrant culture of German speaking countries in underserved communities in Illinois by using the knowledge the WLTE program, the German department, the Goethe-Institute, and the Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois program have all equipped me with to do so.

Julia Barrientos Rosales

My name is Julia and I am from the South Suburbs of Chicago. I decided to pursue World Language teaching because I was raised to love and appreciate the Spanish language, as it is my first language. I worked as a bilingual paraprofessional before attending the University of Illinois to pursue my bachelor’s degree. In the future, I would like to teach in a high school.

Caitlin Niesman

My name is Caitlin, and I will be a driven and passionate future Spanish teacher. From graduating with a high school class of 24 students, I have found and explored every open door on campus from being a proud member of the Marching Illini Color Guard to Student Alumni Ambassador. From growing up with my native Spanish-speaker best friend to speaking Spanish at my restaurant job, I fell in love with the language immediately. With aspirations of one day becoming a college linguistic professor, I love studying and learning about the variational dialect of the Spanish language. I have had many experiences in the teaching field, starting with being a college representative and tutor for ELLs. In Spring of 2023, I volunteered with a bilingual kindergarten classroom at International Prep Academy. The following spring, I observed a high school ESL and Literacy classroom in addition to Spanish 1 and 2. This academic year, I am thrilled to gain more experience this time with Spanish 3 and 4! I am so honored to be a part of WLTE here at UIUC. GO ILLINI!

Pablo Molina

Hi, my name is Pablo and I'm from Chicago. My parents are from Mexico and only speak Spanish so although I was born in the United States Spanish is my first language. Growing up communicating with others in the U.S. was a struggle for my parents since they only spoke Spanish, so besides me just generally enjoying Spanish in the classroom I also want to teach Spanish to others in order for people like my parents who only speak Spanish to be better understood. So far I've volunteered at International Prep Academy (IPA) in Champaign as a tutor. During my time at IPA I tutored many middle school students including refugees from Latin American countries who only spoke Spanish. I've also observed Spanish classes under Juan Socarras at University Laboratory High School in Urbana. Currently I'm observing Yvonne Alvarez at Urbana High School. I have experience working with both middle and high school students and I have enjoyed both experiences, so I don't really have a preference, however after taking many Spanish classes at UIUC I'm interested in being Spanish teacher in a university as well.