Orlando Gonzales, Teaching Assistant

Orlando Gonzalez grew up in a quiet town of Northeast Texas. He was actively involved in sports and academics throughout his high school years. As a high school student, he earned multiple awards for academic excellence. Among those awards are the "Eagle Scout Award" and the "National Society of High School Scholars Award." He graduated at the top of his class forming part of the "Top-Ten" as well as the "Top-Ten Percent." Instead of moving to a four-year university Orlando decided to stay home and work to help support his widowed mother and attended Northeast Community College part-time. For two years, he worked fulltime at the Child Development Center of Mount Pleasant, which is accredited by NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children). During this time he helped organize and be part of many after school programs such as PATH (Parent Are Teachers at Home), Fatherhood Night, and 21st CCLC. He monitored after school programs at Frances Corprew Elementary School and the Mount Pleasant High School. It was during this time that Orlando discovered his passion for teaching and love for children. For his hard work and dedication Orlando was awarded the "Above and Beyond Award" given by the Superintendent of the school district.

At the age of 20, Orlando moved to Austin alone with the intention of attending a local community college full-time while he transferred into a four-year university. He was hired at Lake Hills Montessori as the primary I teacher assistant while he attended Austin Community College. While at LHM he went through extensive Montessori method training and conducted and implemented his own curriculum in Spanish during his third year there.

Today, Orlando attends Texas State University and is completing his degree in Interdisciplinary Studies. He plans to pursue a Masters in Developmental Psychology and become a Diagnostician. One of Orlando's goals is to conduct research in a diverse range of pedagogies.

Orlando is proud to be part of the Magellan International School's team and is committed to its vision. He sees MIS as an opportunity to grow professionally and as an individual. He is eager to learn and share his diverse experiences with the wonderful MIS community.