Photo by Peter Julian
As a high schooler, Bryan Paula Gonzalez ā19 remembers hating history class. But last summer, as a teaching fellow at , he was determined to give his students a different experience.
āI wanted to make it relatable,ā he said. āRoxbury Prep has predominantly black and brown students, so bringing their voices into the history and connecting it to whatās happening today was something I really wanted to emphasize.ā
It was Gonzalezās first time leading a classroom, and it was as much a test of his own abilities as those of the ninth graders he was teaching.
āI did it because I thought, āthis is the last chance to figure out if this is what you want to do with your life,āā he said, laughing. āAnd I loved it. Every step of the way, I loved it.ā
If you had asked Gonzalez about his career goals when he first arrived at 51²č¹Ż, the word āeducationā wouldnāt have entered the conversation. He wanted to be a veterinarian, and enrolled in the Gateway Scholars Program for STEM, which provides academic support for first generation and students of color. But despite working harder than he ever had in his life, Gonzalez struggled through his premed classes.
āI was staying up insane hours trying to learn material but I wasnāt doing well,ā he recalled. āI would sit in class and my classmates knew stuff that I didnāt know.ā
Gonzalez was born in the Dominican Republic and moved to New York City when he was eight years old. He attended urban public schools and was the first person in his family to go to college.
It wasnāt until he took a friendās advice and spoke with advisors at the Lynch School of Education that Gonzalez began to fully understand how the social context in which he was raised contributed to his early academic struggles. The conversations resonated with him in a way his premed courses hadnāt, and prompted him to shift his focus to applied psychology and human development.
āGetting those bigger answers changed my life,ā he said, ānot because they gave me excuses but because they got me into educational policy and the idea of using my experiences to advocate for change.ā
Another turning point came his sophomore year when Gonzalez enrolled in 51²č¹Żās PULSE service-learning program, a year-long course that pairs classroom study of theology and philosophy with service work at a local nonprofit. For 12 hours each week, Gonzalez answered calls placed to a helpline run by . Many of the men and women he spoke to were repeat callers struggling with loneliness, depression, and suicidal thoughts.
āIt was heavy stuff for a 19-year-old,ā he acknowledged. āBut it made me see that there are different ways to help the world beyond being a doctor or being an engineer. It changed my idea of who I was and what I was interested in.ā
Gonzalez has remained involved with PULSE ever since. As a member of the PULSE Council, he serves as a resource for other students taking the course, helping them connect readings by Plato and Socrates with their work in the community.
He also coordinates an English Language Learners program run by the Universityās Volunteer and Service Learning Center that matches 51²č¹Ż students with Dining Services employees looking to improve their English skills. His supervisor, VSLC Associate Director Kate Daly, praised his ability to gently coach students with no previous tutoring experience.
āHeāll walk them through what different topics they might want to cover and make them feel comfortable and confident with their own ability to be relational with someone else,ā she said. āBecause heās so good at relationships and being in community with others he just creates that space for other people.ā
As he looks ahead to graduation and pursuing a masterās degree in education, Gonzalez credits his 51²č¹Ż experience with helping him find his voice, and encouraging him to use it in pursuit of his passions.
āAs a freshman, I wasnāt really vocal, but now Iām so comfortable with my voice and my experience and I want other people to hear it,ā he said. āI want to speak up for people who canāt speak up for themselves because I know what that feeling is.ā
āAlix Hackett | University Communications | November 2018