Miranda Rodriguez teaches second grade at Hidden Hills Elementary. This is her third year of teaching. She also did her student teaching at Hidden Hills, and she says she feels fortunate to work there.

Rodriguez is originally from Lake Elsinore, California. She moved to Arizona for college and attended Grand Canyon University. Rodriguez says she always knew that she wanted to work with children, but she originally planned to become a school psychologist and started out studying psychology.

She worked as a paraeducator at a Paradise Valley high school, and it was there that she honed in on her desire to help shape the future and “positively affect one kid” at a time. Now she gets to “work with such fun kids every day!”

As a student, Rodriguez says she enjoyed history, social studies and reading. She also enjoyed arts and fashion. She went from dreaming of being a ballerina to appearing in a lot of plays.

“In school, math was not my favorite subject,” she says. “Math is something you have to pay attention to.” That is why she likes to play games to “make math approachable and fun” for her students.

Rodriguez says that living in Arizona, she appreciates the desert, if not always the desert critters. She lives near a hiking trail and enjoys hiking and sewing in her free time. She says she also is “trying to get better at cooking.”

Trying to get better at something is a message she shares with her students. She encourages them to “never stop trying. If you’re not good at something the first time, or even the 10th time…never stop trying.”

In turn, her students inspire her, Rodriguez says. She notes that she is sparked by their interests and the things that they are passionate about.

“Teaching is honestly the best decision I’ve made with my career,” Rodriguez says. Her advice for others is: “If you’re thinking of being a teacher, do it. Go for it!”