09/10/2026
𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄 | 𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙋𝙪𝙧𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙢
A series of circumstances and opportunities led her to the classroom. She was unsure if she belonged there, but as she interacted with students, prepared lessons, and took part in different activities, she discovered that teaching could be a meaningful way for her to lead and serve others.
Excitement, nervousness, and uncertainty filled her as she opened the door to her first classroom. Standing before young people seated in arranged rows, she found herself in an experience completely different from her years of learning in college. She didn’t enter the room with the thought that she already knew everything — but with a heart that knew she was beginning a new journey. She realized that teaching requires more than knowing the subject matter; it also requires confidence, patience, preparation, and the willingness to learn from those she teaches.
In her five years of service in the teaching profession, Ma’am Alma May Wandas, a 30-year-old ISPSC Main Campus College of Teacher Education (CTE) teacher, has achieved many accomplishments. She earned a Bachelor of Secondary Education degree, majoring in English, from North Luzon Philippine State College (NLPSC) in 2017, which is now Ilocos Sur Polytechnic State College (ISPSC).
But that is not what she wants to be remembered for.
“Both rewarding and challenging,” she says when describing what it feels like to be a teacher. There were moments when she questioned herself, but those moments became lessons. She learned that not everything goes perfectly. These experiences molded her into a more patient, resilient, and understanding mentor to her students. Looking beyond grades and classroom performance, she recognized that everyone has different abilities, struggles, and stories.
What made her stay in the profession was seeing that the small things she did could make a difference. Seeing a student understand a difficult question, gain confidence, or remember her for something she did made the challenges worthwhile and reminded her why teaching matters. The lesson she hopes to leave with the students in every classroom she enters is that learning is also about being a better person. She hopes they become curious, responsible, and respectful individuals, and that they remember how she encouraged them to believe in themselves and to also make a difference in the lives of others.
Wherever she goes, she carries a spirit of service with humility. She believes there will always be new things to learn from other people, including her students. Listening, helping, learning from others, and creating a space where people feel heard are part of the kind of leadership she believes in.
She wants to be remembered as someone who helped, encouraged, listened to, and believed in the people who came her way. She is a teacher who made people feel they matter. “She encouraged me when I was struggling” or “she believed in me” are words she would consider to be one of the greatest things she could leave behind.
She was full of dreams, but as a child, she never imagined herself standing before a class of young minds. She didn’t choose to become a teacher, but she believes God led her there. The uncertainty of the path she took became a strength she would carry throughout her life.
Her experience taught her that being a teacher is not simply about delivering lessons; it is also about being present for her students, giving them the courage to keep going, and helping them discover their own capabilities.
Teaching was never the path she chose, but it has become the path where she found her purpose. Becoming a teacher is a role she does not regret.
𝘞𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘙𝘩𝘪𝘢 𝘑𝘰𝘺 𝘍. 𝘗𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘢
