My name is Sofía Valeria Lagos Alfaro, I’m 22 years old. First, I would like to introduce my roots saying that I grow up in a small town called Linares with my family, where I live with my parents Ana and Carlos, my older brother Gonzalo and my little sister Pamela. With whom I grew up as if we were twins and learnt English through music. My family is very loving and hardworking, and it has taught me that respect and education are the most important things. My mom is the most important person in my life because she transmitted all the values that I have and the love for reading, which is my hobby and now my door to the world. She and my dad have always supported me in the things that I want to pursue.

I studied elementary and middle school in a catholic school, Colegio La Providencia. It was in this school were my vocation for teaching was born thanks to a professor I had. She was very inspiring to me because she not only worried about, we learning the basics but also, she cared about our feelings and worries. So, I started feeling that pedagogy could change the society through small actions. Then I changed to Liceo Valentín Letelier to study High School because I wanted to learn in an environment more challenging given that this is the biggest school in my city. In this school I gained beautiful moments and friendships. I also developed important leadership roles, like being president of the general student center in a difficult time in the country, the “Estallido social”, where we, the student, had an important role.

I would like to mention that I actively participated in several orchestras playing the violin since I was eight years old until I was seventeen, like the orchestras in the schools where I studied and the Linares Student Symphony Orchestra (OSEL), thanks to these opportunities I was able to develop my personality and nourish myself with cultural experiences. As well as my participation in contests about writing, where my mom always motivated and helped me.

As I said, from a very young age I knew that I wanted to be a teacher. For this reason, I moved alone to Concepción to study Pedagogía en Español in one of the best universities in Chile, Universidad de Concepción. In this place I have had to grow and become a woman, learning to be independent and take important decisions on my own. But now, I live with my sister because she is studying in the same university, and we can rely on each other.

With this experience the most important thing is that I have reaffirmed my vocation for teaching, through the experience as an intern in the Colegio Villa Nonguén. A small school where I have known different realities and educational needs. In this school I have learnt not only through the students but also thanks to the good school environment that the professors have created. Where I have realized the importance of collaborative teaching work.

To finish I would like to say that I consider myself as a woman who wants to continue growing academically and personally and through my perseverance see the world and the different educational cultures, to be the very best teacher I can be, like the ones that I had, and hopefully motivate little ones like I was once.