PASSWORDMANAGEMENT
Gianna Ramirez
March 2019
Interview by Elizabeth Roush
This is Gianna Ramirez鈥檚 first semester teaching GEW classes at Cal State San Marcos. She graduated with a masters degree in Literature & Writing Studies from 大发 in 2018, and when I visited her office hours, I found her sitting at a desk strewn with student papers waiting to be graded. She sat smiling, a fresh cup of coffee and a pen in hand, looking over one of her student鈥檚 work. I could tell she was enjoying reading the paper, and I almost felt like I was interrupting. However, when she saw me, she welcomed me in and put her papers aside.
ELIZABETH: Have you seen these interviews on the website before?
GIANNA: Yeah!
ELIZABETH: So the purpose of these interviews is just to let people see a little bit of who you are as a person, outside of the classroom.
GIANNA: Oh god. [both laughing]
ELIZABETH: So the first question I had is, basically, what got you into teaching? How did you end up here teaching at Cal State San Marcos? What is your 鈥渢eacher story鈥?
GIANNA: I guess I figured out that I wanted to be a teacher after I took my American Lit class in high school. But, I wasn鈥檛 sure whether I wanted to teach elementary, high school, or college. I wasn鈥檛 sure about that--I just wanted to teach.
ELIZABETH: Oh I loved American Lit!
GIANNA: Yeah! American Lit got me to pick my major in college. I used to hate writing before that class in high school. I was just always average. None of my teachers ever said, 鈥淗ey! You鈥檙e a good writer!鈥 or anything like that, and my American Lit teacher was just like, 鈥淵ou really have something. You can really work on this and get to where I think you can be.鈥
ELIZABETH: That鈥檚 awesome.
GIANNA: He encouraged me to take up writing a bit more, so I started doing creative writing, and that鈥檚 when I started thinking about being a teacher for writing. And then I came here for my bachelor鈥檚, and I did literature and writing. That was my major.
ELIZABETH: Did you have a favorite class in college?
GIANNA: Oh there were so many classes here that I loved! There was 鈥淔antastic Journeys,鈥 which was children鈥檚 literature.
ELIZABETH: Your master鈥檚 thesis project was on children鈥檚 literature and children鈥檚 horror, right?
GIANNA: Yeah! I loved 鈥淔antastic Journeys,鈥 and then I had 鈥淭he Monstrous Occult,鈥 which was literally a class on vampires, witches, and zombies. That was with Dr. Breuer, and it was such a cool class! And, all my literature classes here were just... fire. [both laughing] I never wanted to miss those classes. I was so excited for every single class.
ELIZABETH: It鈥檚 cool that you didn鈥檛 really enjoy writing and literature, and then that one teacher made a difference that made you want to pursue it.
GIANNA: Yeah. And I want to do that; I want to be that teacher and help someone realize that, 鈥淥kay, I can do this.鈥 Because I never had that before my American Lit teacher. I didn鈥檛 decide I wanted to be a college teacher until I graduated with my BA and thought, 鈥淲hat next?鈥 I already knew I wanted to go into teaching, and I met up with Professor Stoddard Holmes, and she said, 鈥淵ou have two paths. You can do the master鈥檚 program and you can teach at college, or you can do the teaching credential program.鈥 And I chose college just because I really enjoy college. I love it. I mean obviously, there were times where I thought, 鈥淎ugh! This is too much!鈥 But that was just part of it; I really enjoyed going to my classes.
ELIZABETH: Yeah. In college you get to learn differently, you know? I feel like when I was in high school, I didn鈥檛 really enjoy learning. And then you get to college, and the things you learn are really interesting and challenging.
GIANNA: Yeah. I love that Cal State San Marcos is really pop culture centered, and in the literature and writing program there were really fun things to read. The weird books were always my favorite.
ELIZABETH: Hence the monsters and the vampires?
GIANNA: Yes!
ELIZABETH: Do you have any favorite memories from teaching? When you look back on your teaching experience so far, and you think, 鈥淚鈥檓 happy to be here. This is good,鈥 what moments are you thinking of?
GIANNA: I guess, my first semester of teaching, I had no idea what I was doing... Coming in, a fresh new teacher to this class, and I was super excited to try activities I remembered when I was going to school that I loved, and then putting it into my own class and seeing their reactions to it was always my favorite part. I loved seeing them get excited about it, because I would put in my own spin on the activity to make it more engaging. And it was fun to see the students get excited about it. And another favorite memory is, the last day of class for my first semester, is having students come up to me and thank me for helping them improve their writing where they never thought they could be. And I even had a student reach out to me through an email recently--she was in my first semester class--and told me that I was the one that helped her get encouraged to go into the literature and writing program, and now she鈥檚 doing so well in the program, she鈥檚 getting close to graduating, and she thanked me for helping her decide this whole new career because I told her how awesome she鈥檇 done on her first paper, which she did. She did the best. I knew I was helping her, but I didn鈥檛 know how much she鈥檇 been impacted until she emailed me thanking me. I didn鈥檛 realize that I could make an impact like that.
ELIZABETH: Even before you knew exactly what you were doing, you had the power to make that impact on someone--as you鈥檙e trying to figure things out.
GIANNA: Yeah. Even though I was still figuring things out, I was able to help someone realize, 鈥淭his is what I want to do, too.鈥
ELIZABETH: Is that you鈥檙e favorite part about teaching? Being able to impact students鈥 lives that way?
GIANNA: Hm. I鈥檝e always found school really funny with the way it works how, especially college, it鈥檚 seen as--you come in, you sit down, you listen to the lecture for an hour fifteen minutes, then you leave. But, I think it鈥檚 fun to see how, when I come in, change that whole perception for them, and then-- oh god I forgot the question! [both laughing]
ELIZABETH: What is your favorite part about teaching?
GIANNA: Oh yeah, my favorite part about teaching! So, my favorite part is seeing how the students are seeing that school doesn鈥檛 have to be that. School can be where you can have these in class activities where you鈥檙e working together--you鈥檙e not just listening to a lecture--sitting there, taking notes, and going home. When you鈥檙e not interacting, you鈥檙e not developing those tools that you鈥檒l need later on in life. So, I think that鈥檚 one of my favorite parts, to see them realize that school can be something so much more than just sitting in a classroom, just listening. It鈥檚 shifting from listening to them finding their own voices, being able to get their own ideas out. That鈥檚 one of my favorite parts.
ELIZABETH: Do you have any books you would recommend to GEW students?
GIANNA: Oooooo. So books. [pauses] Anything?
ELIZABETH: Anything! If a student told you, 鈥淚 want to read more! What should I read?鈥
GIANNA: That鈥檚 hard! There are so many books! [pauses] Wow, I don鈥檛 know! [both laughing] First, I always love Neil Gaiman鈥檚 Coraline.
ELIZABETH: I know Coraline is a movie, but I didn鈥檛 know that it was a book!
GIANNA: Yeah! And it鈥檚 so good! It鈥檚 one of my favorite books. And I鈥檝e been reading Alvin Schwartz鈥檚 Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.
ELIZABETH: Oh those stories used to scare me so much! Isn鈥檛 someone making that into a movie? Who鈥檚 making that?
GIANNA: Guillermo del Toro! That was one of the first books I read that combined young adult literature and horror, and that鈥檚 what got me into it when I was in middle school. [pauses] What else what else what else. I also got Stephen King鈥檚 On Writing, and I really enjoyed that. I鈥檓 almost done with it.
ELIZABETH: On Writing is so inspiring! I read it, and I thought, 鈥淚 can do this! I can be a writer!鈥
GIANNA: It鈥檚 so good!
ELIZABETH: Besides what they might read, what advice would you give your students?
GIANNA: I guess something I would have wanted to be told when I came here for my bachelor鈥檚 and I took GEW, what I wish I would have known is definitely to go to office hours. I didn鈥檛 know that was something I could do. And go to the Writing Center, too. I saw it as a place I had to go, and I didn鈥檛 see it as an opportunity. Also, just don鈥檛 be afraid to speak in class. You know? That鈥檚 something that I find funny about school. You come in, and you鈥檙e afraid. You鈥檙e not supposed to talk; you鈥檙e supposed to raise your hand. You have to be called on. The advice I would give is that you should say what you鈥檙e thinking, because your thoughts matter.
ELIZABETH: They do! Students don鈥檛 always realize that their ideas are good.
GIANNA: Their ideas are good, and they always come up with things that I don鈥檛 even think of, which creates a whole new conversation, because they鈥檙e bringing in new ideas for topics we鈥檙e discussing. When they鈥檙e not afraid to speak their minds on a certain topic, we all learn so much more.
ELIZABETH: Besides teaching, what else do you enjoy doing?
GIANNA: Well, when I鈥檓 not teaching I鈥檝e started going back into creative writing.
ELIZABETH: Are you working on anything right now?
GIANNA: I am! I鈥檓 trying to do a collection of short stories--horror short stories. That鈥檚 one. And then, I love doing anything hybrid. So, mixed media with poetry. Anything like that. [pauses] What else? I was a film minor, too, and I鈥檓 trying to get back into film editing. I鈥檝e been trying to--I don鈥檛 know how you would describe it. It鈥檚 hard to get back into, because you forget everything. Film editing was insane to learn in the first place, and now I have to reteach myself how to do it. So, I try to bring my own poetry into the film. It鈥檚 like, different pictures and words going across the screen, trying to create this weird, hybrid, mixed-media project. That鈥檚 what I like to do. [pauses] When I have time. [both laughing]
ELIZABETH: Like, maybe in the summer?
GIANNA: Yeah.