A little boy came into kindergarten without being able to read or write his name, hitting his classmates and refusing to talk to teachers. But by the end of the year, he had completely changed. The solution? Batman.
Nikole Couleur has been a student teacher at Bandelier Elementary School for three semesters. During this time, the UNM senior has worked hard to engage kids and make learning fun for them. To do that, she worked to learn what each child’s individual passion is.
Like Batman, Couleur does not have super powers, but she hopes to make a difference in her community with her degree in elementary education.
“I want to make a difference in at least one student’s life, a major difference,” she said. “I want them to remember me when they are older.”
For Couleur, choosing a career was not difficult. She said she has known what she wanted to be since third grade.
“I would always play school with my sister and grandma. I would make them do homework and grade papers,” she said. “Teaching is the only thing I have had my mind set on from the beginning.”
According to the National Education Association website, the average starting salary for teachers in 2012-13 was $36,141. While not exactly a glorifying salary, Couleur is not in it for the money.
The 22-year-old said the adventures and excitement she experiences in the classroom make it all worthwhile, and will continue to do so in the future.
“Just the things the kids say every day, I am always surprised. What I found to be most interesting is how different every kid is. There are so many crazy stories,” she said. “There is a lot of gross stuff, which you probably do not want to know.”
Couleur’s passion for helping others expands beyond teaching basic school subjects and stopping kids from eating glue sticks.
Four years ago, she joined the American Red Cross Club at UNM, an organization that encourages students to be active in community service and volunteer through the Red Cross in New Mexico. In her sophomore year, Couleur became president of the organization.
Two of the club’s biggest projects were installing fire alarms in elderly people’s homes, and going to schools to teach about fire safety and CPR.
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“With the Red Cross, their main philosophy is all about helping people and being there for others when no one else is,” Couleur said. “Teachers do kind of the same thing. It is about being supportive and looking out for the community.”
After she graduates this week, Couleur plans to stay in Albuquerque for a year and then try to find a job in an underprivileged community in a different state or even a different country.
“I’ve had so much support throughout my life, but I know a lot of kids are not as lucky as I was,” she said. “I just want to be that influential person in their lives.”
Isabel Gonzalez is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @cisabelg.
