AUGUST STAFF HIGHLIGHT: MS. ANALISA MEDINA
What do you do?
I’m part of the operations team, my subcategory is Family and Student Engagement, Upper House. I do a little bit of everything. When I’m not guarding the hallways or running around setting up an event, I work directly with students, either in CCR, online learning, or helping with college essays/the college application process, I thoroughly enjoy helping in any way possible. I also work on community outreach to bring in new opportunities for our students to participate in. One partnership I’m excited to bring to the school this year is with the Rising New York Road Runners.
Why do you do what you do?
To create change, be a role model and bring consistency to our students everyday life at school. I’ve been gifted the opportunity to help students find their passions and learn earnestly about the world. I am truly privileged to work with and get to know our students. There’s a quote I came across recently that sums up how I feel about education and having the opportunity to work with the youth, “We cannot allow an expectation gap to result in an achievement gap”, I feel we must always expect more from our youth. If we, as a society, allow our low expectations to dictate the success of our youth then the opportunity to close the achievement gap continues to grow wider and wider. I want to help bridge that gap, however that looks like in my role at AMS II.
What do you love about AMS II so far?
The students. They truly are amazing individuals and keep me coming back every day with renewed energy.
3 Things people may not know about you?
- I have a weird obsession with Cacti/succulents and sunflowers, if I could have a greenhouse it would include all the different types of cacti and succulents that exist in the world and sunflowers.
- I love poetry.
- I’m originally from Arizona.
Are you new to this profession? Where were you before?
I’m new in the sense that this upcoming year will be my second year at AMS II. Before this I did three years of Americorps service at two different schools. I did one year in East New York, Brooklyn at an Elementary school working with fourth graders and two with a middle school in the Lower East Side working with 6th and 7th graders.
What are your hobbies outside of school?
I run. It helps me maintain peace of mind. Currently I’m training to run a marathon in Honolulu on December 9th. I practice yoga and binge watch Netflix any free opportunity I have to do so. I also try to keep up with college basketball, one of my favorite times in the year is March Madness.
What are some highlights of yours since starting at AMS II?
- One of my favorite moments so far at AMS II has been the class of 2018 graduation. I worked directly with this cohort of students all year and was able to witness them grow into the independent, responsible, and persistent individuals who walked across the stage on June 29th. It was truly a proud moment for me.
- Receiving emails/texts from my seniors sharing the exciting news of getting into college.
- Receiving a call from London from one of my students just to check in and let me know the reason she hadn’t been at school was because she was abroad.
- Establishing a strong partnership with the Sports Management Director at LIU Brooklyn which allowed me to take two different groups of students to tour the campus, expose them to a classroom settings in college, and watch them participate in a college level course.