City Year alum shares her path to teaching

Two years ago, Emilly Ceballos ’23 decided to move from Southern California to New Hampshire after graduating from college. At the time, she was unsure of whether she wanted to go into teaching and decided to give City Year New Hampshire a try.

“It was difficult to start fresh in a new state, new city, and with new people,” Emilly told us. “Through City Year I was able to make some of the best connections and meet amazing people. I was able to form bonds with friends and mentors, all of which allowed me to explore my areas of interest.”

Having been born and raised in Southern California, Emilly said she was used to seeing huge multicultural communities and knew that dual-language programs, interpreters, and other resources were often available to those who needed them. But, she said, this was something she took for granted. “Upon arriving in Manchester, I noticed the high need for interpreters, cultural ambassadors, and all-around representation for students and community members.”

During her second year with City Year, Emilly was given the opportunity to translate lessons in Spanish for a few students so that they were able to learn at the same rate as their English-speaking classmates. That is what really allowed her to see that she wanted to invest her time into educational equity in the multilingual learners community.

Now, Emilly has found her place in the classroom. “This year, I have been fortunate enough to be provided the opportunity to work as a 5-6th math teacher in the Newcomers Program at Hillside Middle School in Manchester! I am so excited to see where this journey takes me!”