Dr. Dulce Miller

I attribute my success to the support of my family. Without them, I wouldn't be where I am today. My husband worked so hard for me to be able to go to school, and my children were teaching me how to read in English when they were in third and fourth grade. I don't have my extended family with me since all my family is in Mexico, so my husband and my three children became my support system. They were talking English before I was able to understand it, and they were my mentors. Believe me, my kids were my coaches. They were with me, helping me to understand, and this was at a time that we didn't have internet in the way that we use it now. They were my rocks, and they are, they still are, and all my success is always them.

The best career advice I ever received came from a superintendent in the school district where my kids went. My children didn't speak English when they came to the United States, and this superintendent really put a lot of effort into the ESL program for the children. When I went to the library and was just beginning, I didn't even think I was going to go back to teaching in the United States because it seemed impossible. But she told me, 'Don't quit. Even if the things are very difficult and complicated, take a day or take two days, but don't quit.' That advice is always with me in everything I do, and I still have her as a friend. She's a doctor as well, and she helped me. It was a complete circle, because I went from being a mom in a school district, to a teacher, and then now I am a doctor, just like her. Always, in the back of my mind, it was that: don't quit. Even if things are difficult, you look for the support, there's a lot of resources, you are in the United States of America, but don't quit. And I didn't. I think that's the best advice, and I always tell my students, even if it's difficult, take a couple minutes if you need to cry, it's okay, if you need to take a break, take a couple minutes, but do not quit.

My advice to young women entering education is to get an education. We are in a place where, if you look for your resources, there is always somebody that can provide you with resources. Get an education, and as soon as you have your education and you are a teacher, understand that the career of a teacher is very interesting because, like many other professions, you always do homework. You're always doing homework, and that is okay, because the field of education is changing so fast with technology and so many other things. The students are different now, they use their cell phones, their computers, and you have to keep up with all of these changes and adapt. Adapt to all the new waves, adapt to all of the new resources. It's so intense. You have to learn how to talk to parents who feel frustrated because of so many things in front of them. They need support. Parents need support, and teachers need to support each other. Always keep in mind that everything is changing, that you are powerful, you can do it, you can adapt, you can do amazing things, but you have to have an open mind. You cannot think that you want to go and sit in a classroom and everything is going to be fine. It's not happening like that at all. Take the feedback with love. The feedback that somebody's giving you, an observation, if it makes you feel sometimes a little bit uncomfortable, because feedback is difficult, but if you listen carefully, maybe it's going to take you somewhere, to a better place. That would be my advice: education, open to feedback, and adapt.