Preparing for the future means reflecting on the past for Milan Aranda.
This year’s national student president, Milan Aranda, was in search of a sense of community when she joined Educators Rising as a 9th grade student at Burke High School in Omaha, Nebraska. And she hopes her presence in the classroom will offer her future students a similar feeling of connection.
“It was difficult for me growing up because I went to a pretty much all-white elementary school, and it was hard to find connections,” said Aranda, now a first-year student at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville. “Then as I got into middle school, there were a lot more Hispanic kids there, but I felt like I was ‘too white’ for the Hispanic kids and then ‘too Hispanic’ for the white kids.” As a teacher, Aranda wants her classroom to be a place where all students feel they belong and are fully seen.
With the new academic year now in full swing, Aranda took time out of her busy schedule to chat about her experiences with Educators Rising, her future plans, and what she wants students who are new to the program to know.
What drew you to Educators Rising?
I’ve wanted to be a teacher since I was really little. I was one of those kids who would set their dolls up and teach them with old textbooks and all that stuff. As I got older, I realized I still wanted to be a teacher, but my reasons kind of changed. I’ve never had a teacher of color, and as a student of color that really impacted me. I missed that sense of connection. I want to be a safe place for students of color so that they can form those connections and always know they have somebody to talk to.
I heard about Educators Rising my freshman year of high school, and I was excited to join because I had never heard of a program like this. It’s filled with a bunch of people who have the same ideals and aspirations. I’m surrounded by people who will help motivate me and give me ideas for my own classroom.
What are you most looking forward to this year?
Meeting new people! We have so many amazing people involved in Educators Rising, and I know I can learn so much from them. I’m excited to connect with new people all over the country, and I’m excited for nationals this year. That’s always my favorite — going and seeing the different competitions. I’m also excited about getting closer to the other national officers. We’re already really close, but we live all over the place — I can’t wait to see them in person again.
What excites you most about the teaching profession?
I’m really excited just to be there for somebody and to make an impact. A lot of my teachers have made great impacts on me. They’ve done so many amazing things for me, and I want to be that person for somebody else. I want to help guide them along on their journey.
Is there a certain grade level or a subject you’d like to teach? Or a certain type of school you hope to work at?
I want to teach kindergarten. I was a teacher’s assistant this year for a kindergarten classroom, and you really see how you are helping to develop their minds. You can see the light bulb click and see such growth. Just little things, like seeing their handwriting improve from the beginning of the year to the end of the year, was fun — and really fascinating. It feels good to know I’m helping them learn and grow.
I would love to teach at a school that has a lot of diversity. I want everyone to learn from each other, too. I want my students to be able to learn something new from their peers.
I’m in Missouri right now for college. I go to Northwest Missouri State, and I’m in a small little town. But I would love to go back to Nebraska and teach. I love it there. I would love to teach in Omaha, maybe in North Omaha.
What’s one thing you’ve learned about the teaching profession that has surprised you in a good way?
That there’s not just one right way to teach! You can just find your own style.
I’ve also learned about all the positivity in education. I love listening to all the conference keynote speakers. It may sound cheesy, but I get super-excited. I hope that I can get up one day and share my own positive stories.
One of the moments it clicked for me — about just how big of an impact was possible — was at the 2022 National Conference in Washington, D.C. Educators Rising alum Tamir Harper was speaking on stage. It was amazing to hear all the ideas he had and how passionate he was. I sat there with all my friends, and we were just so inspired. That positivity made a big impression on me.
What’s one thing you’ve learned about yourself through Educators Rising?
The one thing that I’ve learned from myself is that I can do anything that I set my mind to. I was a state officer for Nebraska Educators Rising before becoming national student president. Through that, I learned that I can be confident, and I can do things. If I told freshman-year me that I was going to be the national president, I probably would have laughed. I wouldn’t have thought I’d ever be able to speak in front of people. Educators Rising has helped me learn to be more confident.
What advice do you have for students who are new to Educators Rising this year?
To try it all — to just get involved and put yourself out there. I was really scared to get involved my freshman year when I started. It’s a little scary to compete, but it’s so worth it. You learn so much, and you talk to so many different people. It’s fun to see the ideas everybody has. You may see a competition prompt one way and somebody else may see it a completely different way — that’s a great experience to have.
