Ms. Gonzalez graduated from Relay San Antonio as a 2nd grade Resident in her first year and was hired as a Pre-K Teacher in 2018. Ms. Gonzalez is currently a Pre-K teacher and a Resident Advisor for Relay’s Residents working in her school. She is the pure definition of taking the baton and passing it on to future educators of our students.

When asked about the impact Relay has made on her career, Ms. Gonzalez said:

“Relay has given me the tools to not only teach content, but manage everything else that comes with teaching. I joined the program wanting to learn classroom management and with the help of my professors and residency experience, I've gotten pretty good at the "warm and demanding" approach to teaching Relay is known for. The program gave every resident a family to lean on. We all went through similar obstacles, helped each other through them and came out better teachers because of it. We fall together, we rise together.”

When asked about her impact on her school community, Ms. Gonzalez reflects:

“My experience with Relay has been amazing. They've pushed me to challenge my students in everything I do. Because of this, I've been able to expose my pre-k students to engineering, biology and many other hands on enrichment activities in the classroom. I've also introduced recycling to the school and sponsor the Recycling Club ran by former pre-k students.

At the start of the year, I saw a great need to recognize students outside academics. At our school, not every student had been meeting their academic goals, but I wanted them to know that every single one of them was capable of being kind to others. Because of this, I started the school wide Links of Kindness initiative. Teachers and students spotlight acts of kindness in the classroom in an attempt to spotlight those little acts of kindness that may go unnoticed, but are definitely happening. Then, I collect the links and make our Kindness Chain that is up on display along our main hallway. This way, students and teachers know that even on the most difficult days, kindness blooms in our school.

My current school role is as a Resident Adviser to a first year Resident. My goal is to help my resident find her teaching voice and be unafraid to make mistakes while learning the art of teaching.”

Sending shine to Miryam Gonzalez and Relay San Antonio for their leadership and innovation to create change and progress in their city and their school. Thank you for passing the baton and supporting our incoming Relay Residents in San Antonio!